This month, we’re celebrating reaching the finals of the Smiley Charity Film Awards with our short film ‘Friendship: The perfect present for Peter’. The animation highlights the difference our services make for older people living with loneliness – we're keeping everything crossed until the winners are announced later in March – if you voted for us, thanks very much for your support!

In this month's update, we hear from Sam Ward from the Royal Voluntary Service on the value of volunteering - if you're inspired to explore opportunities to volunteer with us, just drop us a line - we'd love to hear from you.

We’ve just wrapped up our focus on our Rainbow Call Companion service during LGBTQ+ History Month to introduce the service to new supporters and encourage more older people who identify as LGBT+ to sign up to the service. We're thrilled to have support for Rainbow Call Companions from TV's leading GP, Dr Ranj, and star of stage and screen, Miriam Margoyles.

Read more about what we've been up to in my monthly update.

Best wishes,

Jenny Willott

CEO

A driving force for fundraising

Alfa Travel, a UK coach holiday company specialising in breaks for the 65+ age group, raised a staggering £100,000 for us in 2024. We’d like to say a very special thanks to customers, staff and supporters, and we can’t wait to see what 2025 will bring as we continue with this brilliant corporate partnership.

Meet our Research 100 students

We'd like to introduce you to our Research 100 students, who are helping us understand the issues affecting older people, carry out research into key areas of interest, and provide data and findings to help explain what we’ve discovered. This work helps us continue to improve the services we offer and be a part of the wider conversation around older people.

Charity e-cards for Mother’s Day

If you’re looking for way to honour your mum this Mother’s Day, send a card that makes a difference. ‘Don’t Send Me a Card’ allows you to send an e-card for free and make a small donation to Re-engage instead.

Supporting the rights of older people

Along with other charities and individuals, we recently signed a letter calling on the UK government to champion the creation of a UN Convention of the Rights of the Older Person. We support this call because we want to see a future where older people’s rights are fully recognised and protected.

The Value of Volunteering

“The beauty of volunteering is that no one day is the same, and while roles and responsibilities may vary, there is always an opportunity to support and connect with new people and causes.” Hear more from Royal Voluntary Service Deputy CEO, Sam Ward OBE.

Thank you

Whether you’re a volunteer, fundraiser, donor, referrer, or you spread the word about our work, you’re helping us deliver services that reduce loneliness in later life. Thank you for your support.