Share a joke and spread a little happiness this Christmas with Age UK
16/12/2011
We all love that warm fuzzy feeling you get from sharing a laugh with others, and now it’s official: 91 per cent of people agree laughter infectious and 88 per cent agree it usually makes them feel happy to hear someone else laugh’.
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Funding allows pioneering stroke charity to deliver its service over the Christmas period
InterAct Reading Service are pleased to announce that generous support from The Ernest Hecht Charitable Foundation will enable the charity to deliver it’s award-winning service in ten hospitals over the Christmas period.
InterAct Reading Service was founded in 2000 on the basis of an innovative idea: using professional actors to deliver live, witty and inspiring short stories to people who have had a stroke.
Campaigners criticise plans for pensioner funded care
Britain's biggest pensioner organisation, the National Pensioners Convention (NPC) has reacted angrily to the suggestion from health secretary Andrew Lansley that pensioners should be made to fund the care of other pensioners - rather than having the cost shared amongst society as a whole.
Charity warns of ‘care gap’ crisis as grandmothers providing childcare required to stay in work longer
Nearly two thirds (63%) of grandparents with grandchildren under 16 are providing childcare, (around 7 million in total), often to enable parents to work, with one in five (19%) of grandmothers providing at least 10 hours a week and half (50%) of mothers relying on grandparents to look after their babies when they return from maternity leave – according to new analysis from the charity Grandparents Plus.
Join our appeal to support vulnerable older people living in isolation and poverty
Age Concern Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan is urging members of the public to help raise much needed funds towards supporting older people in crisis. The "Crisis Concern" appeal launches today, Monday the 5th December 2011, and assists people who are vulnerable, isolated and in poverty who find themselves in need of support in these tough economic times.
Beware of fraudulent "Charity Collectors"
It has been reported that persons have been making door to door calls in Northern Counties posing as military charity representatives and asking for donations for Help4Heroes and Equality for Veterans.
This is a fraudulent activity by a criminal gang and all members are asked to disseminate this information urgently amongst their contacts and also through regional press.
NWR’s groups in the UK are a fertile source of new friends
I found National Women's Register and never looked back, your turn next!Order copies of Mature Times for YOUR group, club or local community– free of charge
Would YOUR group, club or local community like to receive monthly copies of Mature Times, the UK’s favourite newspaper for older people?
Then why not get in touch – the service is absolutely free.
Help us spread the word!
Help prevent half a million older people spending Christmas Day alone this year
Christmas is about spending time with family and friends but over half a million older people spent Christmas Day alone last year* according to new figures released today by Age UK. As part of its annual Spread the Warmth campaign, Age UK is urging people to make a difference this Christmas and spread a little cheer by making an effort to visit older relatives and neighbours they know during the festive period.
Merry Christmas and happy ‘Moo’ Year with Cows ‘n’ Things!
Last minute Christmas shoppers should look no further than Cow’s ‘n’ Things, Age UK’s ethical gift scheme, for a present with a difference. The online gifts, which include cattle, chicks, goats and even a whole house are available online at www.cowsnthings.org.uk, so even if the shops have closed on Christmas Eve, it’s still possible to get great gifts for the ones you love whilst helping older people across the world.
Need help with library books in Hampshire?
The Home Library Service is for people in the Hampshire area who are no longer able to get to the nearest library or mobile stop, due to frailty or mobility problems, and don’t have anyone living locally to borrow books for them. If you know someone who could benefit from this service or you’d be interested in helping once a month as a Home Library Service volunteer, then please talk to staff at your nearest library or email using the feedback form at http://www3.hants.gov.uk/library/library-contacts.htm
Struggle to help elderly relative sparks new clothing business for people with mobility problems
A struggle to find smart comfortable clothes for an elderly relative with mobility problems has inspired a former care home manager to launch a Europe-wide business aimed at helping people with mobility problems.
Ann Lomas, who has worked in the care industry for 25 years, launched Assisted Living Clothing this autumn after conducting research into the needs of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s sufferers and others with mobility problems and gleaning detailed feedback from care workers and family members.
Goldies should be on prescription
“When I started telling people in Wales about Goldies they thought I was an upstart from across the Bridge that wanted to start a new choir.
“It took a while for the penny to drop but after our first fun singing session on a Cardiff housing estate attracted over 150 people who sang their hearts out to the hits of the 50s and 60s and got up to do the twist, people realised that Goldies is about encouraging isolated folk to get out and have fun.
Memories FC event brings joy to those with dementia and their families
More than 250 people, most of them people with dementia, attended a mass football reminiscence event at Hampden, Scotland’s national stadium, hosted by researchers at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) and Memories FC partner organisations.
It was the biggest football reminiscence session to take place in Scotland and now it is hoped to follow up its success at football clubs across the country.
Elderly fans were taken on a nostalgic trip through photographs of famous players of times gone by and memorabilia such as old footballs and strips.
Older people being put at risk by substandard care
People with dementia and other older people are being put at risk and having their human rights breached by poor quality care a new report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) claims. The inquiry revealed cases of physical and financial abuse, privacy and dignity being disregarded and of people treated as if they were invisible. This included people with dementia not being prompted to eat so they are left hungry. It also found people often experienced difficulties in voicing their concerns.
