Welcome!
Coming through a challenging time be it a bereavement, a period of increased demand or a lockdown gives us a chance to catch our collective breath and reflect.
You've been doing this with us, and for us, in your work volunteering and supporting older people, as well as in your survey responses, where we've been delighted to see such enthusiastic support for the work we do. Thank you for reflecting on what's important and interesting to you.
Some of our befrienders have been thinking about what makes volunteering special for them. Dan and Tony, on page 6, find that age doesn't matter when it comes to friendship, while Josie looks back at the inspiring older people she's met in her 20 years as a volunteer.
We've also seen in the past months how incredibly important but hard to access bereavement support is. Our new campaign, Time to grieve, aims to make this a bigger priority for government see page 4.
As we come out of lockdown, it's important to take stock of what we've all been through and remember that issues affecting older people, like anxiety and isolation, remain. It's together, as a charity and a community, that we will move forward.
Matthew Wilkley, Director of Income Generation
