As a volunteer, you’re the kind of person who always gives that little bit more, balancing your role with us with your personal and professional responsibilities. I hope, as the busy festive season begins, you can take some time for yourself; after all, we all know you can’t pour from an empty cup!

We’ve been busy making new connections as part of our Christmas call companions campaign, to spread some cheer during December, and we’re looking forward to hearing about the new friendships that blossom this season. I’m delighted to see so many volunteer nominations for the Marsh Awards 2024 - there are just 24 hours left to let us know about an amazing volunteer who deserves to be celebrated - all the info you need is below.

We’re also gearing up for the Big Give Christmas Challenge 2024, which is a fantastic opportunity to have a donation to us doubled at no extra cost. All funds will be used centrally to help grow our core services across the country.

I’d like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who’s taken part in one of our regional volunteer advisory group meetings. Your insight, opinions, and honesty about your experience of volunteering is invaluable in helping us continue to grow and flourish as a charity.

And finally, we don’t want volunteers to wait too long for Christmas event expenses, so the finance team will pay group fund expenses weekly in the run up to Christmas, starting on 22 November. The last payment before Christmas will be 20 December and the first payment of 2025 will be 3 January 2025. You may notice some changes to the online claim form – we hope these improve your experience, but if you need help, please contact finance@reengage.org.uk

If you'd like to get in touch at any time, please email us at knowledge@reengage.org.uk

With very best wishes,

Emily Mangroves

head of service delivery and volunteering

Last chance to nominate a volunteer

There are just 24 hours left to submit your nominations to The Marsh Awards 2024. This is an opportunity to recognise our incredible Re-engage volunteers who go above and beyond to improve the lives of older people experiencing loneliness and social isolation. We can’t wait to celebrate the winners and nominees at a special celebration ceremony in December.

Donations doubled to make twice the difference

Re-engage is once again taking part in the Big Give Christmas Challenge. Between 3 and 10 December, every donation will be matched – meaning you can have twice the impact to help reduce loneliness for older people, at no extra cost to you.

Safeguarding Adults Week 2024

To mark Safeguarding Adults Week (18-22 Nov), Emily and Ruth, our designated and deputy safeguarding leads, reflect on some of the brilliant organisations we work in partnership with to ensure we protect and respect the rights of everyone to live free from abuse and neglect.

Nominate us to win £1,000!

The Benefact Group is spreading festive cheer through its 12 Days of Christmas giving campaign, and with your help, we could win £1,000 to support our work. It takes just two minutes to nominate us online, before 19 December - please share the news with friends and family too!  

Find some festive fun

This year’s Community Christmas online directory is full of fantastic festive events, suitable for older people across the UK. If you’re in touch with an older person in November or December, why not help them search for an event near them, from crafts to carols, markets to lunches. 

Our Christmas animation is here!

We’re delighted to share our brand-new Christmas animation, 'Friendship: The Perfect Present for Peter.' This year’s festive production is a heartfelt short film beautifully showcasing the power of our services. Watch the film, feel inspired, and please share it with your networks to help raise awareness of the impact of loneliness and the ways we can help combat it.

Time Together

Three times a year, we send a copy of our print magazine, Time Together, to everyone who uses one of our services, and also, those on a waiting list. It’s our way of regularly connecting with our community of older people, to share interesting features, useful updates and the latest news. Time Together's also available as a flipbook on our website, so you can keep up to date with the latest issues too.

Thank you

We ask older people what Re-engage means to them. Each month, we share some feedback so you can see the impact your time, energy, and generosity have on older people’s lives all year round.