Help us tackle loneliness

Cadbury is joining forces with Age UK to fight loneliness

We’re proud that Age UK is working with Cadbury to help draw attention to the 225,000 older people who often go a whole week without speaking to anyone.

Loneliness is a crisis in the UK. Being lonely affects your health, your wellbeing and the way you see yourself. It can make you feel invisible and forgotten.

Age UK and Cadbury have joined forces to do something about it. And we need your help.

Age Cymru, along with our sister charities in Northern Ireland and Scotland, are also getting behind the campaign, and encouraging people across Wales to donate your words by pledging to reach out and have a chat with older people in your communities.

Cadbury has donated the words from their Cadbury Dairy Milk bars – for every bar sold, 30p will go directly to Age UK to help provide vital services, support and friendship when older people need it most.

Did you know?

• 220,000 older people in Wales claim to have felt lonely during later life
• 100,000 people aged 65 and over in Wales speak to three or fewer people they know
• 330,000 older people in Wales claim a few minutes of conversation would make a huge difference to their week
• 67% of those aged 16 - 45 admitted they would be likely to do something that could potentionally help boost the confidence of an older person who felt lonely.

We’re asking you to think about how you could donate your words to make a difference to older people near you.

According to a survey by Cadbury and Age UK, some of the actions that would help older people feel more confident when outside the home are:

• Knowing my neighbours (35%)
• Someone asking me how my day is going (22%)
• A neighbour stopping to say hello when we're both out and about (22%)
• Someone smiling or saying hello when we're at a bus stop or in a queue (20%).

How we make a difference to the lives of older people in Wales