Age UK Lincoln & South Lincolnshire? Who's that?

Hi there, welcome to our first blog post!

This blog will act as an information source for you to find out a little bit about us along with industry news that will help you to understand the importance of our work here at Age UK Lincoln & South Lincolnshire. We will also give more information on third sector work in general, as many people have never worked in or experienced work in the third sector and it can be quite eye-opening to get an inside perspective.

This first blog post will tell you about us and what we do to support people in later life within Lincoln and South Lincolnshire. If you have not heard of us before, do not know who we are or what we do, this article is perfect for you in getting to know a bit more about us.

So… who are we?

We are Age UK Lincoln & South Lincolnshire, an independent, local charity who work every day to support the over 50s in our community to help them remain independent and ‘love later life’. Maintaining independence is so important to people, which can be difficult if they aren’t given the right support especially as they get older and independent living gets increasingly challenging. In a society where many people live in different geographical locations to their family members, people are unable to access transport links or they suffer with long-term health conditions, loneliness and isolation can be a significant concern for older people and their families. We offer person centred services that are flexible and tailored to individual need. Our support services are vital in providing confidence and reassurance to both our customers and those closest to them.

To support people in later life, we have a vast range of services that people over 50 can access. These services range from information and advice, a team who work to help people with anything from financial concerns, allowances and benefit checks and paperwork and application forms, to our activity centre that offers Zumba classes. Not only do we offer services from our Lincoln and Boston offices, we also have help in the home and personal care services for people who may require more specific support and personal care to enable them to remain independent at home. Our services support people to stay in their own homes while retaining independence and dignity.

Our service offering also includes, advocacy, insurance services, Lincolnshire telecare services (offering lifeline pendants, key safes and various safety sensors for use in the home). We have a team of responders working 24/7, 365 days a year, to attend to calls through this service. We offer activities that run daily Monday to Friday and a befriending service, where we aim to visit or telephone befriend lonely and isolated people. For many older people in our communities a weekly visit or phone call from a befriender may be the only social interaction that they have all week. Our services also expand to help in the home, personal care, a state of the art day centre, foot care and free home energy checks.

As people grow older and lose family or life-long partners, the reality of facing life alone can be extremely daunting. We aim to provide a light in the darkness for those who have found themselves in isolated situations. If we can help just one aspect of someone’s life, and improve that person’s life for the better then we have succeeded in our goal of helping them to ‘love later life’.

We are also a brand partner of Age UK. The national organisation that is based in London and is passionate about campaigning and ensure that the voices of older people are heard. One of the most recent campaigns being #Switched off where we, alongside the national charity have campaigned and collected signatures to save free TV licences for the over 75s. We join up with Age UK national on national and international campaigns. On a local level we operate completely independently as do all other local Age UKs. The funds we raise are independent and as local Age UKs the services we offer vary.

Being an independent charity means that everything we do and all of the money we raise is put straight back into the communities in Lincoln & South Lincolnshire where we offer our services. Therefore, every time you support a fundraiser or event that we host, you are directly helping your community and us in being able to continue providing services. This makes our work really rewarding because we are able to see first-hand the impact of our work and how the money we work hard to raise helps our communities.

To raise money, we hold fundraising events throughout the year.  Recently we held a fashion show and we have group skydives scheduled for August, September and October. We also have a charity ball that will take place on Saturday 28^th September. This is the third ball held by Age UK Lincoln & South Lincolnshire which carries a different theme each time and aims to raise money through games, a raffle and live auction on the night of the event. This year’s theme is ‘The Greatest Showman’ – so everything circus themed, eccentric and over-the-top is what we are aiming for! Our events calendar is expected to grow over the next few years with our new fundraising and marketing team working on offering new ways of raising money and giving people the chance to get involved in something a bit different to help their local community.

A youth club for the over 50s…

If you have chance to visit our activity centre on Park Street in Lincoln or attend a craft club in Boston, you will soon realise that the atmosphere is alive, fun and engaging. Smiling faces, laughter and conversation fill the air. Our customers are chatty, full of life, enthusiastic and some of the funniest people we have ever met, with the best stories to tell.

Our activity centre at Park Street holds various activity classes every Monday – Friday, with something for everyone to get involved with. Some of the classes/groups on offer are: language classes, computer class, tai chi, walking football, seated exercise, country dancing, choir, scrabble club, friendship group, knitting, art – the list goes on! There is always something happening at Park Street, which makes the atmosphere really lively and welcoming.

“We can’t help everyone, but… everyone can help someone” – Dr. Loretta Scott

Our work would not be possible without the dedication and commitment that is given to the organisation by the employees and volunteers who span across 17 departments. Each department is a cog in the Age UK Lincoln & South Lincolnshire machine and each employee or volunteer oils that machine to ensure that it runs smoothly. Being an independent charity means that departments work closely with one another resulting in strong working relationships and high productivity – helped along by the wonderful freshly baked cakes from the restaurant!

Volunteers are an amazing part of our community, and help us to provide a high level of service to each and every person that we come into contact with. Our exceptional team of volunteers help out at Park Street, our charity shops and at fundraising events. Our volunteers selflessly give their time to give back to their community, helping us to provide the level of service that we do. Their willingness to help others is unmatched and range in ages from 16 to 91, bringing generations together in a unique way.

Goodbye for now…

Well that was just a whistle stop tour of Age UK Lincoln & South Lincolnshire, to give you a better understanding of us as an independent charity and as a pillar in the community.

We hope you enjoyed this blog post and would love to hear any comments you have.

Our next blog post will focus on the reality of loneliness and isolation.
See you soon, B