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inbrief
Did you know that four million used toner cartridges, with apotential value of £12 million to charities, are thrown away each year?
We’re hoping to encourage more people to recycle through the relaunch of our Toner Donorscheme, which currently raises over£15,000 a year. Our new recyclingpartner, Environmental BusinessProducts, can recycle both inkjet
A right royal do Royalty past and present visited the Help the Aged Golden JubileeGarden at this year's ChelseaFlower Show.
HM the Queen, pictured on thismonth's cover with DirectorGeneral Mike Lake, commentedthat it was ‘quite fitting’ that shewas wearing yellow for theoccasion, given the garden’s 200yellow roses.
TV celebrity gardener, CharlieDimmock, joined another royalfigure – an actor dressed as QueenElizabeth I – in the Golden JubileeGarden, which was created as atribute to the achievements of thenation over the last 50 years.Other famous faces paying a visitincluded Gloria Hunniford,Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen andDanni Minogue.
Our PR department securedrecord coverage for the event thisyear, with 52,705,538 opportunitiesto see.
Over the last few months, intouch hashighlighted the work Help the Aged is doing to tackle future challenges facingolder people. As Director of the recentlyre-named Policy, research and international
department, let me take this opportunity to tell you whatwe are doing to meet these challenges.
'Policy’ is a dry and remote-sounding word. But we arepassionate about the everyday reality of being older andthe challenges – from painful feet to patronising behaviour– that older people confront.
Through listening to older people and conducting research, we put together a blueprint of how everyonefrom government ministers to bus drivers should serveolder people better.
To strengthen our research work, we have created a new role of Head of Research, and I am very pleased toannounce the appointment of Dr James Goodwin, whotook up his post on 1 July. Based at Pentonville Road,James will be driving forward the role of Help the Aged as a significant player in the field of ageing research.
Research and policy will continue to inform the Charity’s campaigning work.You can read about how the department is putting our new focus into practice on page 12. In future issues of intouch, we will bring you other news of how we are helping to improve thelives of older people – not only in the UK but across the world.
Paul Cann2 3
insideIntroduction Paul Cann 2Inbrief 3
Campaign news 4MPs targeted in Fair Rate for Care campaign
Your views 5Calls for flexible working
News focus 6Meet the women who are leading national development
Hot topic 8On the streets with our face-to-face fundraisers
Day in the life 10Legacy adviser Phil Rosser on wills and weird requests
Our new focus 12Turning words into action
People matter 13Our new pension scheme
Staff profile 14Stock collector Steve Anderson has bags of enthusiasm for his job
Question time 15Keeping fit is the key, says Edinburgh packer Ethel Brown
Gallery 16From Blackpool Tower to the Tower of London, via a few clubs…
Cover: The Queen visits our Golden JubileeGarden at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show.
intouch is produced by the communicationsdivision. Next issue, September 2002.Copy deadline: 10 August 2002.Address for all correspondence:Editor, intouch, Help the Aged,207-221 Pentonville Road, London N1 9UZ Email: [email protected]
For distribution, contact Alan Sadler on 020 7239 1947
Editor : Liza Ramrayka, Proseworks Design: Solutions Design Consultants, SW20
Charlie Dimmock rubs shoulderswith royalty
Our Wheel Help Appeal team in theBlue Peter garden.
Our Wheel Help Appeal with Blue Peter viewers has now raisedover £1m for older people – that's double its original target!
Thanks to the hard work ofthousands of Blue Peter viewersaround the country – and staff atHelp the Aged – who organisedbring-and-buy sales, we've raisedfunds to help us combat theisolation felt by many older people.
Grants are now being spent onminibuses, adapted cars and mobilityscooters through the Help the AgedSeniorMobility scheme.The schemeis also funding activities to enableolder people to stay active andinvolved in their local community.
Blue Peter Editor Steve Hockingpraised the Blue Peter Appeal teamat Help the Aged for their part inthis huge success.
and laser jet cartridges from printers, photocopiers and faxmachines. Each inkjet cartridge isworth £1 to Help the Aged; laser jetcartridges can be worth up to £5.
You can send your inkjet cartridge from home by Freepost in the envelope in this issue.Freepost stickers for laser jetcartridges are available from EBP on 0800 435 576.
Cash for old cartridges
Following a two-year review,the new Group Personal Pension (GPP) scheme opens on 1 August. .See page 13 for full details.
New pension scheme
Blue Peter passesmillion mark
4
campaign news your viewsMany thanks to all who completed thefeedback cards withsuggestions for intouchand the charity as awhole.We’ll try totake up as manysuggestions as we can.
Here are a few fromthe postbag…
5
Our Scrap it! age discriminationcampaign launched in March hasgenerated numerous examples of ageism from around thecountry, all showing how the skill and experience of olderpeople is wasted.
The campaign seeks to raise awareness of agediscrimination and is calling foranti-discrimination legislationwith a commission to back it up.
The campaign team is planningfurther work around the review of evidence it compiled earlier this year. Signatures are beingcollected on a petition for agediscrimination legislation, which will be presented to theGovernment later this year – you’ll find a copy in this issue of intouch. Get involved andsupport the campaign by gettingas many people as you can tosign. For further copies, contact Sue Christoforou, the CampaignAdministrator on 020 7239 7596.
For the latest news about Scrap it!,check out ourcampaignsnewsletter,Age EqualityNow!
Extra money for social care is amongthe outcomes Help the Aged hopesto see from the Government'sComprehensive Spending Review,expected in mid July.
The review gives details of theGovernment's spending plans for the next three years.Working as partof the SPAIN group (Social Policy Ageing Information Network) Help the Aged will be reinforcingtheir successful work this year with a letter to key policy makershighlighting the continuing need formore money for social care.
For more information about ourcampaigns, contact Debbie Smith,Campaign Manager, [email protected] ortelephone 020 7843 9422.
More cash for care?
Your comments are valuable
and help us to improve intouch.
Please keep them coming –
you’ll find a feedback postcard
inside this issue.
Government urged to plan careThe Fair Rate for Care campaign is targeting MPs and Treasury officials in a bid to secure proper planning andfunding of long-term care.
A coalition representing voluntary and commercialorganisations, including Help the Aged, has published acampaign pack to highlight the consequences of under-funding,such as the closure of residential homes and the distress thiscauses the older people who live in them.
The coalition hopes the pack, part of a wider campaignlaunched in March 2002, will promote debate about fundinglong-term care.
Scrap it!update
Scot freeOlder people in Scotland are now entitled to free personal and nursing care, following the recommendations of theRoyal Commission on Long-termCare, which came into force on 1 July.
Help the Aged is continuing to campaign for free personal care for all older people acrossthe UK. As well as working with the Right to Care coalition,we will keep on pressing theGovernment to give older peoplethe same rights to care in all four nations.
Cath Simpson wrote:
‘I’m just back from a fantasticholiday in North West Scotland and the Hebrides.Whilst away,I was amazed to find Help theAged leaflets on Stepping Outdisplayed in the Tourist InformationOffices in Mallaig (look it up on the map!) and also in the TIO office at Lochmaddy.’
Cath suggested we offer prizes tostaff who spot the most remoteor unlikely location for Help theAged leaflets or material over thesummer holiday period.
No sooner said than done, Cath –you're our first winner! A bottle ofChampagne is on its way to you.
Spot our sun!Several of you suggested thecharity introduce a flexitimesystem.A similar proposal wasalso submitted by a member of staff to the Joint ConsultativeCommittee (JCC).The HR teamsays it is keen to start investigatinghow a flexitime policy might be implemented across theorganisation.We’ll keep you posted.
And as requested, intouch will also give more coverage to topicsdiscussed through the JCC infuture issues.
WinnersThe first three postcards drawn from the hat last monthcame from:
J Robinson,Welwyn Garden City shop, Herts.
Joyce Davies, Volunteer,Lancaster shop, Lancs.
Kate Shanley,Individual Marketing,Pentonville Road.
Prizes are on their way to you...
Flexible working
If you’ve seen or heard usmentioned in unlikely places,intouch wants to know.You can email us [email protected] or write to us at the address on page 2.
We asked you whether we shouldkeep the magazine in full colour,or reduce costs by printing somepages in black and white:
So for now, intouch will remain as colourful as we can make it.Let us know what you think of the current issue and rememberto send us suggestions for future ones.
Hue choose?
44%of you went for black and white
56%said keep the colour
England Anne Molyneux
Anne Molyneux has been in her current post for nearly two years, moving to head office in London after spending nine yearsworking in other parts of the Charity.
7
news focus
Talking heads
6
Two years ago, after nearly adecade with Help the Aged,Anne decide to put her
talents to regional development.‘I’d worked in the service deliveryside with older people but wanted to try out the other side –fundraising and development,’she explains.
Five staff report directly to Anneand she has responsibility for 31 in total. A typical day begins withresponding to emails andcorrespondence, prioritising tasksand reading reports from field staff.This is followed by meetings –sometimes up to six in a day.
‘Dedicated, utterly professionalpeople’ is how Anne describes herteam, who are working with her to bring more emphasis andinvestment in the local face of Help the Aged as well as thenational. She describes her 20
Regional Development Officers as‘the multi-functional foot soldiers’of the charity.
Anne believes the Charity’s biggest challenge is ‘trying to sustain its lead in this area because there are so many otherorganisations now doing similarwork’. Seeing projects come tofruition, such as Cornwall’s HayleDay Centre, motivates her. ‘It was a real community project and themost wonderful feeling when thecentre was finished.’
Anne says tenacity, motivation and asense of humour are needed in herjob – as well as patience with herPC (she’s a bit of a technophobe!).She’d like to see communicationsacross the Charity improved and her long-term aim is to ensure thatHelp the Aged maintains its ‘firstplace’ in the charity fieldrepresenting older people.
As Help the Aged gets to grips with the challenge of representing theUK’s older people, staff at all levels across the four nations are workingto make it happen.
■ The 20 Regional DevelopmentOfficers (RDOs) in Englandco-ordinate all Help the Agedactivity in their area, providinga ‘one-stop shop’ to Help theAged services, grants andproject development
■ The England RDO Teamconsists of two unified teams,one in the North and one in the South, each managed by a Regional Executive.Four people make up theDistribution Team and anotherfour the Citizens MillenniumAward Team.
■ The team is supported byAnne's assistant Sue Jess -‘who keeps me sane’,says Anne
Anne Molyneux,Head of Regional Development, England
Scotland
Elizabeth came to Help the Agedfrom Strathclyde Social Workdepartment. ‘It struck me as an
organisation that would welcome abit of initiative and imagination and I felt that it could really make adifference,’ she explains.
A typical day starts with a clear list of priorities – which Elizabeth saysare out of the door by 11.30am due to a breaking news story. Shedescribes her team as ‘imaginative,supportive, humorous and humbling’and gets great satisfaction fromknowing that, every day, one of themmakes a positive difference to olderpeople in Scotland.
Tenacity, opportunism andcommunication skills are the keyabilities she says are needed for herjob. Her goal for Help the Aged is for the Charity to be seen as ‘themost open, helpful and constructiveorganisation working with and for
older people in the UK’. Achievingthis will depend on meetingchallenges such as understanding the implications of devolution.‘We in Scotland are now muchcloser to the legislators and policyformers and are beginning to usethat strongly to make our mark.’
The biggest frustration, she says, isthe sheer size of Scotland: ‘It mightonly have five million people but it is a vast distance to cover with alimited staff.’ Next on the agenda issecuring a Scottish Parliament EqualOpportunities investigation intoageism in public sector employment.
Elizabeth would like to beremembered as the person whodeveloped Help the Aged into themost relevant organisation for olderpeople in Scotland. And her adviceto newcomers? ‘Speak up – youridea might just be the one we arelooking for.’
■ Scotland’s five millionpopulation includes onemillion pensioners
■ The Scottish Parliamentlegislates on most issuesconcerning older people andrecently agreed free personalcare for older people in need.Westminster still has the remit for taxation, pensions and benefits
■ Services from our Edinburghoffice include Press, Policy,Administration, RegionalDevelopment and support toseveral other departments
■ The Packing Section carries out all fulfilment work for the Collections operation inEngland, Scotland and Wales
■ SeniorLIne has five adviceworkers based in Scotland,answering around 15,000 calls a year
Elizabeth Duncan joined Help the Aged 15 years agoas a development officer.For the last five, she hasheaded a team of front-linestaff in Scotland and isresponsible for the Edinburghoffice, which services a number of other Help theAged departments.
Elizabeth DuncanScotland executive
Elizabeth Duncan
8
Streets of goldFace-to-face fundraising is the latest way for Help the Aged to recruit committed givers.intouch looks at how it works.
intouch joined Team E on the streets of London to find out more….
hot topic
Jason turns on the charm
Kofi finds a friendly Londoner
Team E prepare for battle
We wanted to hear exactly what face-to-facefundraisers have to say about Help the Aged so let them approach us at their spot outside Holborn underground station in central London.
We were impressed by the pitch we heard.Fundraiser Kofi Mills-Bampo asked us for a few minutes of our time. In return we weretreated to a punchy, well-informed account of
the problems older people overseas face and how the Adopt aGranny scheme makes a huge difference to their lives. Kofi reallyknew his stuff and had an enviable grasp of the range of activitieswe fund for older people, both in the UK and overseas.
Kofi is a member of a six-strong team led by Mary Mangan,who says she's always impressed by the commitment of herfundraisers. ‘They put so much effort in and get so many knockbacks each day’ she says, ‘That’s tough to take, especially when it’s raining, and people won’t give you the time of day,let alone adopt a granny!’
Kofi finds Londoners particularly tricky. ‘I’ve been sworn at and spat at in London before, but out of town it’s much easier – some people actually approach us to find out what we’re doing,and older people out shopping stop for a chat.'
‘It’s different strokes for different folks,’ says fellow team memberJason. ‘The men in suits are always in the biggest hurry, so whenthey stop, I cut straight to the chase and tell them how much oftheir time I’ll need and what it’ll cost them each month to adopt a granny.’
Kofi adds: ‘People don’t want to hear a rehearsed pitch, so you’vegot to be natural or they won’t be interested. My approach is quite laid back and sincere, whereas Jason’s a big smiler – he’s apure flirt!’
City slickers
9
OVER
8,000committed givers recruited
since June 2001,more than double
the number recruited in the previous year.
Why we support face-to-face fundraising
In the first year,support is worth over
£500,000In 5 years, worth over
£2,500,000!
OVER
1,800people are now experiencing
a better quality of lifethanks to the
Adopt a Granny scheme
Although some people do drop out, once signed up, we can expectthese donors to become long term Help the Aged supporters.It’s also a successful way to recruityounger supporters, who seem toprefer the direct approach to otherfundraising techniques.
Of course, face-to-face fundraising is not without its critics.The idea ofpaying a professional fundraisingoutfit to help us raise money is hard to swallow for some people.Others feel uncomfortable that theteams also work for other charities,so aren’t close enough to the aim of the charity, be that savingrainforests, protecting children or defeating ageism.
The major objection comes frompeople who find the presence of these fundraisers on the streets irritating or feel that,despite the efforts of the PublicFundraising Regulatory Association,
Since June 2001, face-to-facefundraisers working for Help theAged have recruited 8,000committed givers – more thandouble the number recruited in theprevious year. In the current financialyear, the teams are set to recruit12,000 givers.This will raise a total of£720,000 in the first year and, overfive years, be worth a staggering£3.6m to the Charity. In addition,fundraisers will have found 1,700people willing to adopt a grannyoverseas.
Face-to-face fundraisers work forexternal agencies, which supplytrained professionals to work forHelp the Aged and a range of othercharities including RNID, ActionAidand the Samaritans.Teams offundraisers will target a certain area – often a busy shopping streetor transport link – and approachpassers by to tell them about thecharity’s work and, hopefully, signthem up as donors.
alk down any busy street on a week day lunchtime and there’s a good chance you’ll see a face-to-face
fundraiser trying to sign up potential charity donors.In recent years this new way of fundraising has bucked thetrend of falling donations, prompting big name charities,including Help the Aged, to ensure there are paidprofessionals on the streets raising money for them.
W
some patches in our towns and cities are overworked byfundraisers representing different charities.
While charities decide how best to deal with these critics, the factremains that face-to-face fundraisingcan bring us valuable income andnew supporters. And if the publicare happy to stop on a wetSaturday afternoon to hear aboutour work, that can only be a good thing.
Your viewWhat’s your opinion on face to face fundraising –innovative technique or public nuisance? Let intouchknow what you think. [email protected] or write to us at the address on page 2.
Willing to helpa day in the life...
10
‘When you considerthat the legacyoperation brings inaround a third of theCharity’s expenditure,you realise what asignificant role the team has.’
Legacyadvisors
■ most advisors have a backgroundin the financialservices industry and specialistknowledge of wills,inheritance tax and probate
■ £12.3m in legacyincome brought inlast year
■ supported by seven-strong legacyadministration team at head office,including a solicitor
■ 13 legacy advisorscover England and Wales
‘As you’re in regularcontact with thesepeople, it’s like losing a close relative,.....but you move on andknow that what countsis that they trusted aHelp the Aged advisorto sort out their affairsin a sympathetic andpersonal manner.’
The life of a legacy advisor is full of surprises. Phil Rosser gives intouch an insight…
iscussing death each day may not sound like a bundleof laughs but Legacy Advisor Phil Rosser has nothing
but enthusiasm for his job.
As our legacies representative for Hampshire, Berkshireand part of Surrey, Phil generated £420,000 in potentiallegacies for the charity last year by speaking to hundredsof older people in their homes, clubs and local libraries.
D
Together with the other 12 legacyadvisors who cover England andWales (Scotland and NorthernIreland have different laws), Philhelped to earn a whopping £12.3mfor Help the Aged last year and set up new legacies worth anestimated £3.3m.
‘When you consider that the legacy operation brings in around a third of the Charity’s expenditure,you realise what a significant rolethe team has,’ explains Phil, whojoined Help the Aged two and ahalf years ago after over 25 years in the insurance and financialservices industry.
Like his fellow advisors, Phil worksfrom home, with most of his timetaken up with visits (30-40 eachmonth) to older people. Leads aregenerated through requests for ourwill information pack, which isadvertised in specialist publicationssuch as Yours and Saga. Othercontacts are picked up through
the legacy department’s Heritagemagazine, which is mailed to around300,000 older people each year.
‘People are very up front abouttheir later years and we offer a mutually beneficial service,’he explains.
There’s no such thing as a typicalday, says Phil. However most willinvolve him making appointments or visits to discuss will writing,inheritance tax and other legalissues. He also needs to be anexpert on the work of the Charityand often, people leave a largerdonation as a result of hearing more about our activities.
‘I will talk about their familycircumstances, the size of theirestate, where they want it to go and the type of legacy they maywant to make.Then I go away and prepare a letter explaining what Help the Aged can do,’Phil explains.
On his next visit, the client mayinstruct Phil and make any specialrequests – type and location offuneral, arrangements for pets andso on. An external solicitor thenprepares the will for Phil to deliverto his client.
While this is a free advice service,Help the Aged also offers anexecutorship service for peoplewho may not have survivingrelatives.The Charity will sort outtheir funeral, arrange for assets tobe sold and organise houseclearance if needed. In return, theclient will leave a legacy to theCharity; the amount will depend on the size of their estate but willcover costs and a donation to Help the Aged.
The Charity has around 3,000pledges on its books, including one91-year-old woman in Bognor whoPhil sees every three months.When two of his clients died
recently, Phil’s daughter asked himhow he could do such a depressingjob. ‘As you’re in regular contactwith these people, it’s like losing aclose relative,’ he says. ‘But you moveon and know that what counts isthat they trusted a Help the Agedadvisor to sort out their affairs in asympathetic and personal manner.’
And some people have some veryspecific requests… One maninsisted that his ashes be scatteredfrom a boat in Portsmouth harbour.‘Fortunately the Royal Navy conducta regular service at sea, so we couldfulfil that wish!’ says Phil.
When he’s not out on visits, Phil gives talks about the Charity andwill making to WI and othercommunity groups, local churchorganisations and pre-retirementcourses. Libraries and CitizensAdvice Bureaux provide otheroutlets to give presentations andorganise displays on the Charity’swork and services.
Phil says legacy advisors have aunique position within Help theAged because of the number ofolder people – around 300 onaverage – they see each month.He would like to see the Charitymake more use of this regularcontact.
And all staff can help support legacypromotion, he says. ‘Everyone here,young or old, can help the team toget more business by telling shopvolunteers, colleagues, friends andparents about us.’
11
Our legacy advisors... licensed to will
1312
Values into actions
people matterour new focus
If you have any questions you would like to ask Human Resourcesregarding your employment, pleaseemail: [email protected] write to us at head office.
From 1 August all employees may join the new GroupPersonal Pension (GPP) scheme.
The final salary scheme, which continues for those who’vejoined, closed to new members on 31 July. Employees whohaven’t joined the final salary scheme may now sign up forthe new GPP money purchase scheme.
You can join the new scheme by contributing as little as 3% of your salary each month. An employee earning £10,000a year and choosing to make a 3% contribution would pay in£19.50 a month. Help the Aged tops this up to make a totalcontribution of £91.66 each month.
Help the Aged is all about ensuring a good-quality later lifeso we’re big fans of pensions. If you haven’t joined a scheme,now’s the time!
To find out more about joining the GPP scheme,contact Diane Maiden on 020 7239 1855,or call the Standard Life helpline on xxxxx
Fit for the future?
New handbook for allWant to apply for a season ticketloan? Need advice on paternity leave? The new Employee Handbookgives information on these and manyother employment issues.
By now, you should all havereceived this comprehensive anduser-friendly reference guide whichwe hope will prove an invaluablesource of information about workingwith Help the Aged. In addition topolicy information, details of thelatest employment legislation are alsoincluded.The handbook's loose-leafformat means we can easily update it as new information becomesavailable, and you will receive newpages as and when appropriate.
As we will be adding to thishandbook on an ongoing basis, weare very keen to know what youthink. Is it useful? Is there otherinformation that you would like tosee included? Is there enough detail?Let us know by writing to the editorat intouch, or filling in the card inyour handbook. A selection of yourcomments will be published in future issues of intouch.‘The first across the finishing line’
was how Doug Parkin,Training andDevelopment Manager, described the excellent achievement of Richard Caton, Andrew Timms andTom Owen in being the first tocomplete our new IntroductoryManagement Training Scheme.
First class In completing the scheme the trioalso achieved the NEBS IntroductoryCertificate in Management, anationally and internationallyrecognised qualification.
Since the first intake last August,we now have over 50 managersenrolled on the scheme. Completioninvolves attending four managementdevelopment workshops, maintaininga learning plan and development log and submitting a work-basedassignment.
The scheme is now mandatory for most of our newly recruited or promoted line managers andHelp the Aged is now an accreditedNEBS Management Centre.
Combating povertyThe 75p increase in the weeklypension became £5 because we allshouted loudly. Now, amidst theconfusion of the Government’scurrent policies, we are campaigningfor a pension that enables people tolive, not just exist; for a system thatwill last; and above all for one thatwe can all understand and trust.
Meanwhile in countries like Tanzania,we are working to combat thedesperation that comes with extreme poverty.Through the
HelpAge International collaboration,we aim to get governments focusedon the needs of older people.
Promoting good-quality careWe are steadily improving the rights of older people. The £16‘pocket money’ given each week to older people living in care is not a lot but it’s even less when it gets used for basic costs that older people shouldn’t have to pay for.We have persuaded the government to take action to stop such practices.
The Research into Ageing team isleading key projects that will one day unlock the solutions to some of the biggest blights on the quality of later life, such as dementia orosteoporosis.We are putting a lotmore money into biomedicalresearch to achieve this, and a lot of effort into communicating theresults of such research, so that theunderstanding of scientists is sharedwith the practitioners.
Reducing isolationIsolation comes in many forms: aneighbourhood you don’t feel safe in;living in a care home and not seeingthe friends you used to; or beingalienated by the latest communicationtechnologies.Working with theCommunity Services team, and usingresearch, we are pushing hard at thepolicies and services that excludeolder people. At the same time,we are promoting and supportingprojects in the community that offersome solutions.
Defeating ageism andcelebrating ageAfter the eye-catching stunt of olderpeople in rubbish skips comes thelong hard slog of wearing down theGovernment on absurd rules andbarriers related to health screening,access to mobility benefits, transportcosts, funding of care and so on. Thegood news is that, somewhere in theUK, there is usually one country thatis ahead of the game.We are workingacross the four nations to mirror thesuccess of Northern Ireland inmoving forward on age discrimination,Scotland on free personal care andWales on transport.
Paul Cann, Director of the recently re-named Policy, research andinternational department (PRID),continues our series on how each part of Help the Aged is turning our new focus into a reality.
year or so ago, Help the Aged made some bigstatements about our vision, values and direction.
Like other parts of the charity, PRID’s task has been toidentify actions that we can take in our daily work that enable us to live out our values. Here are some examples…
A
The PRIDe of Help the Aged
14
QThe social side is great.We have a lovely team. And the money is very acceptable because I only get the state pension. I enjoy the challenge of getting it right.
Oh no, not while I’m coping and enjoying it. I’m fit and active and would miss it very much if I had to give up. I’m from a conscientious age group and my last appraisal showed I had nil sick leave. I just love it and feel privileged to be doing my job.
Making society more aware that older people still have a lot to offer.I fully back the Age Discrimination campaign. I’m glad I am living in a time when things are starting to improve for older people. I’m pleased that Help the Aged is becoming more known in Scotland.There are more shopsand we've benefited from the Blue Peter appeal, which provided a minibus in Pilton not far from here.
I have five grandchildren aged between seven and 12. I swim once a week, I’m a member of a choir and I like to go to the theatre. I have a big garden so that keeps me busy and I’ve given up the car so I do a lot of walking. My big interest is the Fitness League – it used to be known as the Women’s League of Health and Beauty and I’ve been a member for 40 years. I used to go down to the Royal Albert Hall in London to take part in the big annual displays. It’s great and keeps me supple.
What keeps you busy in your leisure time?
If you were in charge of Help the Aged, what would be your priority?
So you don’t plan to retire?
What do you enjoy about your job?The generous folk of Amersham and Dunstable are very fondof Steve Anderson.They even ring him at home at weekendsand, like the trouper he is, Steve will drive his van to theirhouses – to pick up another bag of donated items destined for a Help the Aged shop.
profileintouch
Name:
Steve Anderson
Occupation:
Stock collector
Location:
Dunstable
Rounding up donated goods for Help the Aged shops is a truelabour of love for stock collectorSteve Anderson
Ethel Brown is 73 and has workedfor Help the Aged in Edinburghsince she retired from her job as a ward clerk at an Edinburghmaternity hospital eight years ago.
She works three days a week in the packing section of theCollections department, now apart of Individual Marketing.Teams in London and Canterburyhandle the planning andrecruitment, then forwardcollectors’ details to Edinburgh.Here, the team of eight send outbespoke packs to 130,000 house-to-house collectors a year, plusthousands of raffle tickets,donation letters and around 1,000 will packs each week.
Most of the team are agedbetween 63 and 75. CollectionsOperations Manager Ann Hansonsays: ‘I have a wonderful team andI’m very proud of them.’
question time
15
‘Not getting bags filled is the most soul-destroying thing I know, but on a goodday I can collect 90 filled bags’
‘My generation aremore conscientious.My last appraisalshowed I had takenno time off sick’
Ethel Brown
Never off duty
teve, 51, has worked as a full-time stock collector for
the Charity for seven years and picks up goods for five shops in the Dunstable area. Every three or four months, Steve and his twocolleagues visit each area.They leaveempty bags and return for themtwo days later – by which time theyare hopefully full of goodies. ‘I put out about 360 bags a day, five days a week, and get back an average of 60 or 70 filled ones a day.On a good day it could be up to90,’ he says.
This high rate of success is due toSteve’s attitude. ‘If you only get 20bags back it is so soul destroying it’sunbelievable,’ he admits. ‘I feel I’vereally let down the Charity.’ So Stevetreats every day as a challenge: if it’s raining he dons his waterproofsto keep out the elements and tomotivate his team, he devises league tables.
S Over the years, Steve has built up arelationship with his 30 or so regulardonors. ‘They will tell me if anothercharity has been round recently and if so, I leave it a couple of weeksbefore going back,’ Steve explains,adding that older women are themost generous donors.
Most of the bags contain clothes,bric-a-brac and books but on oneoccasion, Steve discovered anunpleasant surprise: ‘There was adead hedgehog wrapped in someclothing in the sealed bag. I thought‘Crikey, what’s that smell?’ and, ofcourse, I had to throw the whole lotout.That was weird.’
As well as collecting, Steve iscurrently acting team leader, whichmeans filling in mileage and activitysheets – usually done at home in the evenings. But the additionalpaperwork hasn't put Steve off hisnext challenge – to break his recordof collecting 150 bags in one day!
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Now in its 10th year, the event is a unique opportunity for older people to debate burningissues such as pensions,transport, social care and age discrimination.
GALLERYA record 3,000 delegates from across the UK gathered in Blackpool for this year's Pensioners Parliament,the annual event organised by the National PensionersConvention (NPC).
Delegates on Blackpool promenade Flying the flag for older people
Actress Honor Blackman was sent to the Tower of London for the launch of Stepping Out, the British Gas Help the Aged Partnership eventaimed at getting older people out and about this summer.
A range of visitor attractions,hotels and travel companies offereddiscounts and special offers this year. Around 100,000 older peoplewere expected to take part in the event. Barbara Burnley, Regional Development
Officer for South and West Yorkshire (farleft) joins WPC Lesley Ormerod and ITvolunteer Graham Bentley to launch anew multi-cultural centre in Calderdalewhich is supported by Help the Aged.
Registered Charity No. 272786
Do you have any great fundraisingor events photos which you’d liketo see in print? Send them toGallery at the address on page 2.
Pensioner powerintouchthe magazine for employees and volunteersno4 August 2002
Fair cop in Calderdale
Keynote speakers includedRodney Bickerstaffe and Jack Jones of the NPC; agony aunt andbroadcaster, Claire Rayner; andour own Paul Cann, Director ofPolicy and International Affairs.
The Help the Aged golf societyplayed its first round together at the Stage for Age Mad March Hares golf tournament atKingswood Golf & Country Club in Surrey. Pictured (from l-r) areteam members Guy Patterson,Local Committees Manager;Head of Communications Nikki Hill;Terry Thirdborough,Religious Networks Manager andGlen Rodgers, Facilities and Services Manager.
The society is now looking for new recruits. Contact GuyPatterson on 020 7239 1487.
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Royalty and roses Queen visits our Jubilee garden
Streets of goldFocus on face-to-face fundraisers
Pensions updateNew scheme opens
Royalty and roses Queen visits our Jubilee garden
Streets of goldFocus on face-to-face fundraisers
Pensions updateNew scheme opens
