Julia Rausing Trust is delighted to announce a £5 million donation to Age UK to help fund the Charity’s crucial friendship services over the next two years, aiming to tackle loneliness amongst older people and help them feel more valued and included.
This £5 million ‘gift of friendship’ donation will enable the Charity to answer more than 58,000 calls to its Silver Line Helpline, match over 3,100 older people with Age UK befrienders to receive weekly calls through the Charity’s national Telephone Friendship Service, and fund community-based befriending programmes delivered by 20 local Age UK’s across the country.
Age UK’s new research reveals that over half a million (540,000) older people say Christmas is a hard time as they feel forgotten about by the world around them, and whilst Christmas time can be especially tough for millions of older people, loneliness and social isolation are year-round problems. Approximately 3 million older people currently rely on clubs or social groups for company all year round.
The Silver Line Helpline, founded by Dame Esther Rantzen and now part of Age UK, is free and available 24 hours a day for any older person who would like a friendly chat. While 95% of Age UK’s current Telephone Friendship Service users say that they feel a little or a lot less lonely thanks to their friendship calls, demand for Age UK’s friendship services is increasing, and the local Age UK network’s capacity to deliver befriending and loneliness interventions is already at a tipping point.
This grant from the Julia Rausing Trust will support Age UK to sustain and grow its befriending services to meet demand today and into the future, helping thousands of older people who are feeling lonely.
Commenting on the grant, Simon Fourmy, Director, Julia Rausing Trust, said: “Julia Rausing Trust is pleased to support Age UK’s friendship services. Julia Rausing encouraged people to use Christmas as a time to help those alone and in need, as she did during her lifetime through her grant-giving. We know through previous collaboration that Age UK’s friendship services provide meaningful support across the country at this time of year which is why we have chosen to make this grant in her name.”
Paul Farmer, CEO of Age UK, said: “Too many older people across the country spend their days in silence, wishing that the phone will ring or that someone will ask how they are. Julia Rausing Trust’s exceedingly generous donation to Age UK, in memory of the late British philanthropist, will help Age UK provide the invaluable gift of friendship and social connectivity to tens of thousands of older people – many of whom have nowhere else to turn for support. Every day, Age UK’s Silver Line Helpline, Telephone Friendship Service and network of Local Age UK’s provide a lifeline to so many older people, and this donation will help us ensure that these crucial services are able to continue meeting the ever-increasing demand we are facing.
“Sadly, we often hear from older people that they feel forgotten, undervalued and invisible, but this donation cements the Julia Rausing Trust’s commitment to supporting such a significant part of our society, and sends a clear message that every older person should feel included and valued. On behalf of everyone at Age UK, I would like to again thank Julia Rausing Trust for this remarkable gift, which we are honoured to receive on behalf of older people up and down the country.”
Dame Esther Rantzen, founder of The Silver Line Helpline said: “Thank you so much for your wonderful, generous support. The Julia Rausing Trust’s support will transform the lives of many thousands of vulnerable and lonely older people. On behalf of everyone at Age UK, but in particular those older people and all our volunteers and staff in The Silver Line’s friendship services, thank you so much.”
