Annual Appeal 2019

Age UK Bradford District Launch Annual Appeal

Age UK Bradford District have launched their Annual Appeal which this year is focussing on three key themes with an overall fundraising target of £20,000 between 13 February and 20 March 2019.

Mark Rounding, Chief Executive, explained the focus of this year’s Appeal.

“There are currently over 9,000 lonely older people living across Bradford District. We are a local, independent charity and we have teams working with as many individuals as possible, listening and talking to them to find out what would make a real difference in their lives. Last year we were able to work with 5,500 lonely older people in the area and we would like to work with more in 2019.

So the first strand of the Annual Appeal is seeking £7,000 which would help us to create six new Lunch Clubs for one hundred older people; support two hundred older people with new Home Buddies and support five hundred older people with new Telephone Buddies.

The second strand has a target of £3,000 and focusses on daily exercise which helps us all to stay strong and healthy, lowering the risk of obesity, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and even cancer. If that wasn't enough, staying active can also boost self-esteem, improve sleep, and give people more energy. Government guidelines recommend that older people do 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity per week, as well as strengthening exercises twice a week. We supported activity sessions for 250 older people last year and are looking for support to create six new Activity Groups for one hundred older people this year.

The third and final strand has a target of £10,000 and is about the new challenges that people face as they get older and the events that many experience which impact on their health and wellbeing. Some of these events may include bereavement, diagnosis of health conditions, divorce, retirement and so on. For some people these events can have a major impact and without the correct support this can result in crisis. In these cases Age UK Bradford District’s information and advice team will work with individuals to identify a person centred package of support to enable and support people to move forward.  We work together to help identify what people would like to achieve to make the most from this transition point and we are looking for financial contributions that will enable the team to support a further one hundred older people in the area who are in crisis”.

The charity is hoping that people will make donations direct in one of their shops or online via their Just Giving page - https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/AgeUKBradfordDistrict2019 

They have also developed a range of fundraising opportunities which they are encouraging people to participate in on their behalf.

•           National Day of Unplugging – 1 March 2019. This is all about encouraging to turn off their mobile phones and tablets and go an hour, 3 hours, half a day or even a whole day without using them. People could then collect donations (or fines!) throughout the day – especially from those who won’t believe that they can do it!

•           Walk of Ages – 16 March 2019. The charity are encouraging people to join their team or make a donation for their marathon plus walk covering 28.8 miles as they travel from Baildon to Wrose via the scenic route and all their shops!

•           International Day of Happiness – 20 March 2019. The culmination of the Appeal is the chance to celebrate this special day in UNESCO’s calendar with some fun, fundraising activity. The charity is encouraging people to wear something that makes them happy like a t-shirt from a concert by their favourite group; a sports shirt for the team they support; a hat that reminds them of a fantastic holiday; some jewellery given to them by a loved one, etc, etc, etc. Any and all contributions are extremely welcome and every pound raised will make a real difference to older people living in Bradford District.

If you are able to help or are interested in supporting Age UK Bradford District and would like more information you can contact Chris Alexander on 01274 391190 or email: chris.alexander@ageukbd.org.uk