Our Age UK - Issue 1, March 2012

AGE UKIssue 1 | March 2012

Celebrating our success

Improving later life in the UK and around the world

Thank you Age UK

Our customers salute us

Overseas opportunities

Secondments in Thailand, Kenya and Bolivia

It’s a dashfor cash Going the extra mile

Star interview • Your feedback • Message from Tom • Note from the Editors

Our Age UK • page 2

MeSSaGe frOM TOM

Welcome to the first issue of Our Age UK – a quarterly magazine for all age UK people. In this issue you can read all about what we’re doing at age UK through the voices of the people who make it happen: you.

This year, we will build on all the great successes we have achieved in 2011 – many of which are listed in this spread. We plan to grow our resources and resulting impact, including through increased charitable spend and support for our partners. We only need to look at some of the You did it! awards on pages 8 and 9 to see the passion and dedication you all have. We have much to be proud of and it is only through the hard work and commitment of our 2,500 staff, 20,000 volunteers and the thousands of people who work for our 170 local partners that we can together achieve so much for older people.

With the Directors, I will continue this year to update you all at face-to-face meetings across the organisation. Our series of ‘Spotlight on…’ presentations continues in Tavis House on Thursday 15 March when Duncan Lewis and I will focus on our big plans for Marketing. On Tuesday 17 April I will be visiting ashburton with Steph Harland to talk to colleagues there. as ever for those of you unable to attend, the sessions will be captured on video and available via the internal communications team.

Don’t forget, I am also hosting the last in the current series of staff focus groups on Monday 19 March and we will be looking for one volunteer from each Division. They are a great opportunity to meet more of you informally and for in-depth discussion, about how we can do better as an organisation. recent participants have enjoyed the sessions and found it a worthwhile use of their time. Please get in touch if you would like to share your experiences and put your views across.

Thank you all for your continued hard work and I look forward to seeing many of you soon.

Best wishes,

Tom Wrightage UK Chief executive

CeLeBraTInG OUr SUCCeSS

INTERNATIONALTogether with our sister organisation, Helpage International, we assisted older people and their families to recover from floods in Pakistan in 2010/2011 and a food crisis in east africa in 2011. In Pakistan, we provided cash, food and healthcare to older people and their families – approximately 22,000 people. In ethiopia, we provided food, cash, mobility aids and hygiene kits to older people and their families –approximately 27,000 people. and in Kenya, we provided cash, water purification tablets, jerry cans and mobility aids to 3,000 older people and their families – approximately 21,000 people.

Credit: Erna Mentesnot-Hintz /

HelpAge International


Every day, all year round, we help to improve later life in the UK and around the world through fundraising, campaigning, information and advice, financial and retail products, research into ageing and international relief.

All of our activity is documented in our Annual Review, sent by hard copy to all of you. The Review tells the story of our work in the financial year 2010/2011 and here we look back at some of our successes from 2011:

NO. 1 WEbSITEOur significant investment into the age UK website reaped rewards when, in September 2011, we were ranked number one out of 300 by Third Sector research. The report looked at how easy it was to donate, find contact details and the accessibility of the site as well as use of facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

jOINT vENTuRE WITH PETERbOROugH SHOPWe opened the doors in May 2011 and, to date, the Westgate store has provided information and advice to more than 1,300 people and has recently been accredited with ‘The Pride of Peterborough award’ in recognition of the service provided on site. Directly through the store, an additional 83 per cent of people have had access to a full benefits check with an advisor and an extra £116,000 has been claimed as a result.

MOvE TO TAvIS We are reaping the benefits of moving to a modern office space where London-based staff can work together. Sharing the space with our partners Helpage International and age UK Camden also adds a different dimension to our working partnerships. Tavis House offers a welcoming hub for age UK people and partners across the country.

CHARITY Of THE YEARIn May 2011, we were voted Dods Charity of the year for our campaigning work in Parliament. We are now the charity, pressure group or voluntary organisation that first comes to mind among MPs and the Press in relation to older people. Top of our agenda is cuts and care and last year we were successful in influencing national government decisions to protect key entitlements for older people and to reduce the risk of cuts to adult social care.

gIvINg MONEY bACKCampaigning to put more money in the pockets of those who needed it was a major focus of 2011 – and a successful one. More than 250 local partners took part in the campaign, we distributed more than 200,000 advice leaflets and helped hundreds of thousands claim benefits of £124 million.

ACHIEvINg 170 PARTNERSHIPS The work we do would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of local age UKs. from dance classes in Brampton to home support in northumberland and befriending services in norfolk to roadshows in the Lake District, together we improve the lives of older people throughout the country.

gROWINg OuR bRANdfrom being an unknown brand in 2010, 72 per cent of the general public are now aware of age UK and the work we do. research following our TV advertising campaign last summer also showed that recall of the ad was good and attribution to age UK was high. a media evaluation for age UK media coverage showed that our coverage reached 85 per cent of UK adults from april to June 2011 – essentially the ceiling that you can achieve for ‘reach’.


eaCH ISSUe We WanT TO GIVe YOU THe OPPOrTUnITY TO TaKe a Pen anD WrITe aBOUT anYTHInG YOU THInK YOUr COLLeaGUeS WOULD LIKe TO Hear aBOUT. THIS MOnTH, OUr GUeST eDITOr IS PUBLIC affaIrS aDVISOr CAMILLA WILLIAMSON, freSH frOM Her reCenT SeCOnDMenT In THaILanD.

guEST EdITOR:

My role at age UK is to communicate our work to parliamentarians and government, with a view to influencing policy, legislation and the political agenda more widely. It was this experience that got me the three-month Government affairs secondment to Helpage International’s east asia Pacific regional Office in Chiang Mai, where I had an incredible time.

During my time there, I was lucky enough to work on a huge range of areas and visit projects that Helpage are running in Thailand, Burma and Cambodia. Some of the key bits of

work I completed included a review of government policy on ageing among the 10 association of South east asian nations (aSean) member countries, drafting an action plan on ageing for the Burmese Government, supporting three days of training

to 50 civil servants from the Department for Social Welfare in Yangon; and supporting work on the Cambodian policy review that is being conducted between Helpage, the United nations Population fund (UnfPa) and the Cambodian Government.

My work in the UK is focused on the communication of age UK policy, whereas in Chiang Mai I was helping to map policy in the region, identify gaps and make detailed recommendations regarding it. This was a bit daunting at first but turned into an enjoyable challenge.

An Older People’s self help group in Kyolait, burma/Myanmar, established and supported by

HelpAge offices in Myanmar.


It made me appreciate just how much policy colleagues at age UK have taught me!

The east asia Pacific regional Office are experts in their field and are constantly advising government, but they don’t have specific influencing and communication programmes.

aside from working on specific projects that needed completing, I also introduced them to some of the ways we work at age UK and designed some communication and influencing strategies that hopefully they’ll be able to use going forward.

Before I went to Thailand, I did some work with our international team, and going forward, I will hopefully do more work influencing the UK Government and Parliamentarians on international ageing issues. In addition, the insight into ageing policy in South east asia has given me a new perspective on the ageing agenda which will undoubtedly feed into my work at age UK.

all in all it has been an inspiring experience and has re-emphasised my interest in ageing and the politics of ageing while adding a stronger international element to this, which I am very keen to develop in the future.

dId YOu KNOW?We are creating a new charity within the Age UK Group with HelpAge International as a founding partner, which will focus exclusively on international work and will enable us to deliver on our commitments to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC). This new Age UK charity will be headed by its own Director reporting to Tom Wright. The name will be HelpAge International UK, to reflect our status as HelpAge International’s UK-based affiliate.

For more information contact [email protected]

SPreaDInG OUr WInGSWorking at age UK can provide us all with some really exciting opportunities. Last summer, three such opportunities arose for age UK staff to work overseas with our partner Helpage International (HaI) for a number of months. HaI approached us because they needed people with specialist skills to advance their work in Thailand, Bolivia and Kenya.

as well as Camilla’s stint in Thailand in 2011 (see left), two more working adventurers have gone overseas this year to support Helpage’s vital work in Bolivia and Kenya. Marketing Services advisor Hazel austin left for nairobi in early January to take up a marketing and communications-based three-month secondment. While there, she will develop the Helpage brand and strengthen marketing communications around fundraising products for age UK and other Helpage International partners.

regional advisor alison Paton also left for Bolivia in early January for a corporate fundraising and

engagement role based in La Paz (Bolivia) covering South america. The role will map out the development of corporate partnerships with regional and multinational organisation in supporting Helpage International and older people’s interests.

richard Blewitt, Chief executive of Helpage International, told us:

‘We were delighted to be able to provide three exciting opportunities for age UK staff to work in Chiang Mai, La Paz, and nairobi. These vital roles support Helpage’s important work and give the successful secondees the chance to experience different cultures while making a real difference to people’s lives. I’m really excited to hear about Hazel and alison’s work when they are back and also about exploring more opportunities in 2012.’

To hear more about these secondment opportunities, contact [email protected]

ALL IN ALL it has been an inspiring experience and has re-emphasised my interest in ageing and the politics of ageing while adding a stronger international element to this, which I am very keen to develop in the future.


THanK YOU aGe UK

We constantly receive positive feedback from the people we support, their families and others using our shops and services. We hope these stories and quotes will fill you with enthusiasm for the year ahead!

RETAIL‘as a regular visitor to the charity shops in Belper I have found age UK to be one of the tired looking ones. So imagine my surprise when I walked in today. I was very impressed by the fabulous transformation. I met Marianne the new manageress (what a lovely lady) and I told her what a great job she had done. I know with her positive attitude and approachable nature she will go very far in your company. She advised me to look on your website to see information on what age UK does and also to place my comments. I will now donate and gift aid to age UK as Marianne explained where the profits go and you get a further 25p in the pound for the charity. Well Done age UK’.

Mrs daniels – shop customer

AId CALL‘To everybody, just want to say a huge thank you – from the people who set up the unit, the engineers who updated it, the customer service staff who kept our records updated and those on the end of the line who dealt so patiently and calmly with us all. You gave us confidence and enabled us to continue our lives, knowing that mum was safe. Thank you so much.’

john and Liz Payne – Aid call customers

INfORMATION ANd AdvICE‘Please accept this donation of £10. I know it isn’t much, but it is all I can afford and thank you for all the information you have sent. I have just retired from work on my 80th birthday and I wasn’t aware I could get benefits and was worried how my husband and I would be able to pay our bills. Once again, thank you very much.’

Mrs M from grimsby – recipient of age UK Information & advice


HANdYvAN‘Just a little thank you for the marvellous HandyVan service. When my curtain rail collapsed I didn’t know where to turn until a friend told me about HandyVan. nigel was outstanding. not only did he fix my rail, but on two subsequent visits sorted out some trailing telephone cables, put safety locks on my windows and a door chain. I cannot over praise my appreciation. Hoping this service will continue.’

Richard – HandyVan customer

INTERNATIONAL ‘Because of the floods, I lost my cow and two buffalos. They were my sources of income. I consider it a blessing of allah that Helpage. identified me, among several others, as a beneficiary of cash assistance. Older people are usually the most neglected segments in our society, especially in disasters. I purchased a cow with this money, which is now getting healthier and healthier.’

Gula, 82, survivor of the Pakistan floods in 2011

A CALL IN TIME‘Dear Call in Time Team, you have been such a blessing to me over many sad months. Deep grief and loneliness are such difficult emotions to explain, but every one of you seems to understand and have given

very real comfort to me. Thank you all so very much for all your care and concern to an 82 year- old lady who, although you barely know, you still reach out to uplift.’

barbara flynn, Call in Time beneficiary

barbara flynn.


group finance Leed’s Abbey dash team - from front left to right: Tinaka Niven, Nicki john, Martina O’Riordan, Charles Scott, Teresa Harber and Roy d’Cunha.

THeY DID IT!

Age uK is full of folk busy working hard to improve the lives of older people. We wanted to celebrate those of you who have gone that extra mile. below are just a few of the 100 individual and 20 team You did it! Awards given out last year in the words of the colleagues that nominated them.

SHOP SuPERSTAR area Sales Manager Jill Hall nominated shop manager Tazneem Khamker, who was awarded a rare special recognition award to the value of £250:

‘Taz entered a shop window dressing competition in accrington to support the local football team ‘accrington Stanley’ who were in the play-offs to move up the football league. Taz did a fantastic window, dressed as Lady Gaga and sat in the window for a couple of hours as a live model. The result of this was that we won the competition and a great prize – free advertisement hoarding at the football ground for the next season to the value of £900.’

fAbuLOuS fINANCIERTeresa Harber nominated Tinaka niven in the accounts team of Group finance:

‘Tinaka is a really positive role model in finance. as well as doing her day-to-day work she goes the extra mile and actively gets involved in fundraising activities and championing age UK. She organised for the finance Department to take part

in the Big Knit during lunchtimes which resulted in us knitting 162 smoothie hats.

Tinaka was also part of the recent Group finance Leed’s abbey Dash team. as well as training to achieve her personal goal of completing 10K, she played a big part in us more than doubling our fundraising target of £1000.’

Tazneem – aka Lady gaga.


INCREdIbLE IT-ERSIT manager John Crail nominated members of the ashburton IT team – andrew McIver, ashley Griffin and Cameron frankish:

‘Throughout the period april to July 2011, the IT team were involved in a number of major IT developments: the Wan links to ashburton were installed/configured, the enterprises’ telephone system was upgraded and the enterprises’ Microsoft navision system upgraded. Under normal circumstances all three projects would have been undertaken separately due to the complexity and risks involved. However all three had to be implemented together and went live successfully in June 2011.

a huge amount of pressure was placed on the team and many extra hours were given to deliver some excellent results.’

AdMIN ANgELSformer Services Director Helena Herklots

nominated the Lead administration team in the Services Division - Christine Miller, emma foster, Joanne Crossley, Liz Stacey, Michelle Hales, Vanina ribatallada, Yvonne nwanokwu

and nic Paget:

‘When the Services Division moved into Tavis House a whole new system of shared workspace had to be set up which was led, organised and implemented by the Lead admin team. They designed an innovative solution taking into

account the range of needs across the whole Division, including those of regional staff who use the area too. They devised a system of booking desks, created name

plates, introduced new storage solutions to over 90 people and helped colleagues become paper-light before the move.’

A ROYAL REWARdeach year age UK is offered two places to attend one of the royal Garden parties hosted by The Queen. The parties are a way for The Queen to recognise and reward attendees who are from all walks of life. as a result of their great achievements, Tinaka and Taz will represent age UK this year at the May event!

gET IN TOuCHDo you have a colleague who is a true Age UK champion? Why not nominate them for a You did it! Award. If successful they will receive £100 or a gift voucher for the same value. And if they have done something super extraordinary they will receive a special recognition award to the value of £250. Get in touch with Lynda Hall on 020 303 31515.

‘THE YOu dId IT! AWARdS are a great way of rewarding those of you who go above and beyond what is required in your everyday jobs. Each month I am impressed by the sheer passion that many of you demonstrate in doing all that you can to help your colleagues or our customers. Well done to all of you.’ Tom Wright


Our second ever Bobble Day took place on friday 10 february with lots of coverage in both national and local press.

We gave the nation a chance to get creative with their winter knits and finish off their woolly outfits with a colourful bobble –and they did in their thousands!

We made a big day of it internally too, with Bobble-themed bake competitions, a Speed Bobbling event and much, much more!

Of course, our shops went all out to make their windows the most vibrant on the high street, with orange, yellow and magenta displays brightening up everyone’s day. Thanks to all of you for your hard work in making it such a successful day.

Don’t forget, you still have the chance to get involved in our Wrap Up and run events taking place all across the country. Whether you are a runner or not, these 10K runs are for everyone, from walking groups to serious athletes.

STILL TIMe TO WraP UP anD rUnOur Spread the Warmth campaign launched last November, and runs throughout the whole winter with a fundraising target of £1 million. Last year the campaign reached more than 360,000 older people suffering needlessly because of loneliness, inadequately heated homes or poor health. Southport 10K 4 March 2012

www.ageuk.org.uk/10k

THE uPCOMINg dATES ANd LOCATIONS ARE: Crystal Palace, London

– 4 March 2012Southport

– 4 March 2012Tatton Park, Cheshire

– 11 March 2012

Harewood House, Yorkshire – 18 March 2012

Exeter – 25 March 2012

Coventry – 25 March 2012

Get in touch at [email protected] or call our dedicated 10k hotline 0800 169 8787.

QuICKfACT:More than 200 people in later life still die needlessly every day during winter months.


vIEWS fROM THE 6TH fLOOR - jENNIfER NELSON Junior web editor

Committed and hard-working as we are, occasionally something draws us briefly from our desks on the 6th floor of Tavis House to look out of the window. recent views to cause a stir include:

Sunset: a dark pink and burnt orange sunset produced a moment of calm and some camera phone clicking.

Nudity: from a fortunate distance, one local resident often surveys Tavistock Square from his apartment, in his birthday suit.

Moon: a particularly bright full moon

Prince Charles: some of us were too cool to apply to meet the Prince, but we did press our noses against the window to catch a glimpse of the top of his head

Storm: strong winds, heavy rain and poor pedestrians

false alarms: when a critical mass of about three people happen to look out of the window at the same time.

TaLKBaCKEach issue, this space is reserved for you to tell us a joke, make an observation or recount a funny experience you have had while working at Age UK. Send your hilarious contributions to [email protected] or call us on 020 3303 31712.

jACKIE bIRCH Regional Legacy Team Leader (North)

On about my third day with the charity, I was out in the car with my ‘new’ boss Lilian on the way to visit a client. I pulled up to a junction and a police car pulled up alongside me.

I was mortified, I thought I had committed a motoring offence with my new boss in the car (not a great start) and that they were about to reprimand me.

not at all. Instead, the policeman asked us whether we had seen a naked man.

‘What, ever?’ I asked. no, apparently a report had been made to the police that there

was a naked gentleman running about the housing estate and the policeman wanted to know if we could give him a clue as to where the man was. Sadly, we were unable to shed any light as we did not have the pleasure (or otherwise) of seeing said naked man.

OLIvER STANNARdPartner Communications Coordinator, Partner Relations

I entered ten jokes into a pun competition. I really wanted one to win, but no pun in ten did!

Ha ha ha ha ha...Oliver Stannard.

jackie (left) and Lilian (right).


So barbara, what does a day in your life as a Retail volunteer involve?I work four hours twice a week, usually on a Tuesday and a Thursday, although I do sometimes fill in as well if people are on holiday. about 99% of the work I do is on the till and shop floor. We sell

clothing for all age groups, so customers might ask

for advice on clothes they try on. We also sell new goods and bric-a-brac. It’s great because the stock varies month-to-month which makes the shop busy and

time flies.

What part of volunteering do you enjoy the most?Before I came here, I worked in customer service in banking for many years, so I am used to dealing with people, and love talking to them and helping them. I like the social element and I really enjoy working with Steve, the

manager, and all the other staff, who are very friendly. It’s nice to see different people, and also to work for an organisation that helps older people in so many ways.

Any favourite customers? Or strange ones?Well the regulars are all lovely. I guess in this line of work you will always get the odd comment from strange men! In the summer we

also get lots of tourists who are visiting the Cotswolds, so it’s nice to chat to both.

Why did you choose to volunteer with Age uK?When I retired, I knew that I would want to do something to keep active. after a year I saw an advert in the shop window, and thought it sounded really good. also it’s a new shop and looks really inviting. There are six or seven charity shops on the high street but this one is definitely the busiest and the best.

Any resolutions for 2012?Mine are probably similar to lots of others – to lose some weight and keep healthy! I’m not really an exercise person, but there are some lovely places to go for a walk around here so I plan to do that.

barbara Leah, Retail volunteer, has been working in her local Age uK shop since 2008. barbara is married and lives with her husband less than three miles from the shop in Tewkesbury, the market town in the Cotswolds. barbara tells us about what motivates her and what’s it’s like to be at the forefront of Age UK.

STar InTerVIeW

NOTES fROM THE EdITORSTell us what you think! We would love to hear from you if you have feedback on this issue, or ideas and contributions for issue two in the summer. Get in touch to [email protected] or call us on 020 303 31712.

This issue was brought to you by the combined efforts of Our Age UK editorial team, the brand services team and our design team including Aine Mannion, Stephen Gilbert, Morgan Vine, Darren Brown and Ja Noriaka.

barbara loves the Cotswolds.

Documents

Our Age UK - Issue 1, March 2012