Today is International Friendship Day.
To celebrate - the charity ALONE, that supports older people, is calling for new volunteers.
Since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, research has shown older people are experiencing higher levels of loneliness.
CEO of the organisation Sean Moynihan says they want to double their volunteers:
"We're looking for volunteers across the country but really, we have a big need in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Donegal and Kerry. In 'Alone' with around 3,500 volunteers but because of the amount of people lonely and the amount of people who need support over the next three to four years, we want to get that to 9,000".
