Candles are flickering on top of a cake, and there are birthday cards on a table that is laden with sandwiches and scones.

The broad smile on Rodney Jennings' face shows how much he is enjoying his 87th birthday, and the other guests gathered around the table are clearly having fun too.

Yet it could have been very different.

If it were not for the tea party that has been organised by the charity Contact the Elderly, Rodney – a retired storeman who has no family in the Bristol area – could have ended up spending the day on his own.

And so could many of the other guests attending the afternoon tea, which is held every month by a Contact the Elderly volunteer, and has happened to fall on the date of Rodney's birthday this month.

All the guests are elderly people with few opportunities to go out, often because their families no longer live in the Bristol area, or because many of their friends have died.

Rodney, who lives in Fishponds, explains: "I came to Bristol in 1996 after my wife died. My son and daughter-in-law lived in Bristol, and they suggested that I sell up my bungalow in Farnborough and buy a house with them.

"I lived with them for about 10 years, but then they split up and went their different ways. My son lives in Blackpool now, and it would have been difficult for him to come down today as it's a long drive and he's got an appointment the following morning.

"My son will come down another day, but I'd have probably spent my birthday alone if it wasn't for this tea party. It's something I really look forward to every month."

The Fishponds group of Contact the Elderly, of which Rodney is a member, has an event on the third Sunday of every month. Often they are tea parties in the homes of volunteer hosts, but other outings have included a trip to the zoo, lunches at pubs and a visit to The Mall at Cribbs Causeway.

The September tea party that became an impromptu 87th birthday party for Rodney is being hosted by 30-year-old Iain Thurgar, who lives in a flat in a converted warehouse overlooking Bristol's Floating Harbour.

"I'd been living in London, where I was sales manager for a media company and didn't have much time spare," says Iain, who now runs a company that supplies firewood.

"That changed after I moved to Bristol. I decided I wanted to do some voluntary work in my spare time, but I didn't want anything that would take up all my weekends.

"I looked through a lot of options and came across Contact the Elderly, for which you only have to volunteer about once a month as a driver, and once a year as a host."

Iain phoned the head office of Contact the Elderly in London, which has three groups in Bristol. He became a volunteer with Contact the Elderly about three years ago, after being was put in touch with 29-year-old Isabel Kwok, who is co-ordinator for the Fishponds group.

Isabel, of Stapleton, who works as a business development manager at Triodos Bank, became a volunteer with Contact the Elderly about three years ago.

She says: "To someone with a busy life who is surrounded by lots of people, going to someone's house for tea may not seem like a big deal.

"But it can mean a lot to someone who lives on their own. Getting asked out to something makes them feel wanted, and they enjoy being part of a group."

The Fishponds group of Contact the Elderly has 10 members.

Betty Cann, 85, of Soundwell, who has been coming to the group for six years, says: "It's the highlight of my month.

"I've been to some really nice events and have met some very nice people. We went to a lovely pub in Keynsham by the weir for lunch recently."

Joan Holbrook, 82, of Mangotsfield, has been a member of the group for about three years, since hearing about it through Age Concern.

"I was a bit nervous at first because I didn't know anyone, but I soon made friends and it's become something that I really look forward to," she says.

"Most of us don't get out very often, and it can get depressing sitting in a room in a flat day after day.

"We really appreciate the way these young people give up their time for us.

"We get to go to all sorts of different houses, and we had a lovely picnic by the river in Conham not long ago."

However, it is not just the elderly members who benefit from Contact the Elderly events.

Iain, who is hosting the tea party, says: "My grandparents live a long way away, so this is good for me too as I've got to know everyone in the group.

"Some people might be put off volunteering because they think it could be hard work, but it's actually very enjoyable.

"Usually it's a tea party, for which you have to pick up two or three people and drive them to somebody's house for tea, then take them home again later.

"It's really easy to do, and it gives people in the group a chance to get out and see other people."

His views are echoed by Isabel, who says: "It's nice for me because I don't have grandparents now, and I miss having contact with that generation.

"There must be so many elderly people in Bristol who don't have family and friends around who could benefit from this.

"We desperately need more people to come forward as volunteers – even if they only want to host a tea party once a year."

● Contact the Elderly is a national charity that was founded in 1965, and now has 311 voluntary groups that help over 2,500 elderly people.

One Sunday afternoon a month, members are taken out by volunteer drivers to a volunteer host's home for Sunday tea, or are taken on an outing. The same group of about six to eight elderly people goes out together, visiting a different host each month.

For further information on Contact The Elderly go to www.contact-the-elderly.org, or telephone National Volunteer Support officer Suzan Hyland on 0800 716543.