Last Sunday, Mash ran their first Superjam party in Brixton. There were scones, laughs and tunes aplenty with everyone thoroughly enjoying themselves and going home knowing they had taken part in something truly special and meaningful.

Fraser Doherty, the teenage entrepreneur behind the hugely successful start up Superjam, had a vision: A world in which he hosted the most amazing tea parties for the elderly in his native Edinburgh.

Egged on by his Gran, who used to take cream teas to house bound elderly residents in her area, Fraser decided to act:

‘I was inspired to get involved in entertaining housebound elderly people by my Gran. When she originally made jam, she would make jam and scones and cakes and take them to all the elderly people in her area. These were people who didn’t ever get out of their homes and rarely had visitors, so my Gran would take my brother and I with her and we would play our musical instruments or share stories with them to brighten up their day”

As an astute business man and purveyor of fine jam, Fraser had a great base from which to launch the Superjam tea parties.

He rang round a few of his favourite business partners to get their support. With their help, the parties started to take place. Since April 2008, he has run well over 100 events, with up to 500 guests at each, all over Scotland, England and Wales.

Now offering live music, dancing and, of course, SuperJam and scones, the tea parties have gone far to improve the lives of the elderly that participate.

The guests have a wonderful afternoon every time, and are grateful for the invite. One guest even said that it made him ‘feel like a person again’, since he had made such a great new group of friends.

Fraser soon realised that the tea parties were very popular, and had real potential. He decided to call in a favour with his buddies over at Mash.

The idea was to work in partnership, utilising each parties strengths – Superjam providing the jam, Mash coordinating the next event.

The aim is to get the right partners on board, and roll these tea parties out, nationwide. We are full of ideas, and open to suggestions – why not come down and get involved at the next party?

Ideally, by 2010, we want to be hitting six cities, once a month, with a total of 72 tea parties throughout the year.

We are sure you’ll agree, these tea parties are a great idea. As clichéd as it sounds, you don’t often get an opportunity in your working day to give something back.

At the Superjam tea parties, we aim to:

Put on a spread – tea, scones, cakes
Get active – music and dancing
Build friendships – swap recipes AND home baked goodies
Learn something new – knitting and bridge

At the next Superjam tea party, 200 guests are expected.

Get involved – for more information please contact Emma Massie-Taylor on 0207 939 7670 or emmamt@mashmarketing.co.uk

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We’d also like to make special mention of the band who played for us all at the Superjam party last Sunday. The fantastic Gabby Young & Other Animals had played until 4am at the Wiltshire Jazz festival that morning but arrived with a real desire to get involved and appreciate what the event was all about. They went down an absolute storm with some beautifully harmonic and haunting melodies and ensembles. A real treat.

Please do look them up as they are well worth going to see live.

For more info on the band please go to www.mypsace.com/gabbyyoung or email: gabbyyoung@gmail.com