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Thank you to our amazing supporters!

We were blown away by the support from local businesses, community groups and individuals from the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

Thanks to them we were able to help hundreds of older people each week through some of the most difficult times of their lives. 

A clap from all of us at Age UK Solihull

Some of our colleagues got together on a video call to thank all our supporters on behalf of the charity, and take a moment at the end to remember the colleagues, volunteers, clients and family members our team has sadly lost during the pandemic.

Our wonderful supporters

Volunteers

We are so thankful for our volunteers, who have always done a fantastic job. During the pandemic, our need for volunteers changed, and hundreds of people stepped up to help us ensure that all older people in Solihull had what they needed. Special thanks to:

  • Our existing volunteers who have taken on new roles and responsibilities
  • Several hundred individuals who have become new volunteers
  • Edwardian FC (Rugby Union) and Olton Cricket Club who helped deliver 3,000 food packages to older people across the borough every day (pictured right)
  • National Grid volunteers who are carrying out telephone welfare checks to help us keep in touch with older residents and refer them to more help if needed 
  • Solihull Summerfest
  • Solihull Self-Isolation Support Group 
  • Healthwatch Solihull 

Isolation and Inspiration: Some of our volunteers shared their stories for Volunteers' Week 2020.

Financial Support

With our shops closed and our events cancelled, we have relied on local businesses and the community more than ever. We are so grateful to everyone who has helped us financially, including:

  • Age UK (national) 
  • MK Health Club, who donated £15,000 of their funds from Mkadifference Charity in memory of an old friend, who also happened to be an old client of ours (cheque being handed over by Ian Rogers from Solihull Summerfest, right)
  • Western Power
  • JLR
  • Sembcorp Energy 
  • Paragon
  • Knowle Masonic Centre
  • Heart of England Community Fund
  • Beaumont Hill Farm
  • One Stop Carriers for Causes
  • IMI plc
  • Knowle & Dorridge Lions 
  • Shirley Lions 
  • Rotary Club of Knowle & Dorridge 
  • Meriden Rotary Club
  • Provincial Grand Lodge of Warwickshire
  • Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust
  • Jack's Supports
  • Sing! Bentley Heath
  • Standard Life
  • Saqib Bhatti MP
  • Tesco Bags of Help
  • Countryside Properties Ltd
  • St Alphege Rose Criox Chapter
  • The Eric W Vincent Trust
  • George Henry Collins Charity
  • Baron Davenport's Charity
  • We Are All Making A Difference Charitable Trust
  • Our clients whose grateful comments and donations are not expected but make our day
  • All the individuals who have donated to or shared our fundraising appeal

Fundraisers

We haven't been able to carry out our usual fundraising activities, but our supporters have got creative and stepped up to the challenge to raise much-needed funds for us. Thanks to:

  • Matthew Smith who raised £1,180 for us and the national Age UK with his epic challenge to run the distance from Land's End to John O'Groats in his back garden over 50 days (right)
  • 5 year old Benji who raised over £1,100 with his 2.6 Challenge to dance non stop for 26 minutes
  • Barchester Healthcare who donated food bank supplies and also fundraised with a 2.6 Challenge where they walked and jogged around Fountains Care Home 26 times
  • Edwardian FC (Rugby Union) who, as well as helping with food bank deliveries, raised £1,071 for us by virtually walking, running and cycling over 4,500 miles across the Six Nations
  • Our Fundraising Manager, Lorraine Hart, and her husband John, who took part in My Prudential Ride London and cycled 19 miles, raising £220
  • Legal and General walked 115 miles and raised over £1,130 in doing so
  • Gill Wyatt, who raised funds for us by completing 31,000 steps in August

Everyone who has made or donated face masks, including:

We are still collecting face masks to give our volunteers and older people. Thanks so much to everyone who has donated some so far, including:

  • Scrub Hub South Birmingham
  • Ellie Alice Seamstress
  • Midlands NHS Uniform Bag Donations
  • Ann White
  • Trudie Cooper
  • Emily King
  • John Outhwaite
  • Sue George
  • Julie Morgan
  • Anne Cross
  • Katherine Hughes
  • Sarah Lampkin
  • Sally Mosley
  • Krys Zalewska
  • Pat Marshall
  • Alix Cannell
  • Lyn Clowes
  • Maragret Oswald
  • Coreen

Partners and other supporters

We could not do the work we do without the wonderful people we work with, including:

  • Solihull residents who continue to support us, whatever we ask for
  • All our voluntary sector partners
  • Solihull Council who have provided unwavering support throughout the crisis
  • The Lower Ground Floor Porters at The Core whose support we couldn't do it all without (right)
  • Solihull Police and Solihull Fire Service who have supported us to carry out safe and well checks
  • Fountains Care Home who have helped make our clients feel special during lockdown, by donating birthday cakes and afternoon teas.

Food Bank Supplies

We operated an emergency food bank for the first six weeks of the pandemic, and received incredible support from:

  • Helping Hands Food Bank who worked with us to ensure vulnerable people in Solihull of all ages had what they need. We have now passed weekly food packages to Helping Hands
  • Birmingham Business Park who collected food and supplies for us for over 18 months, and hugely stepped it up during the coronavirus crisis
  • National Grid who helped keep our food bank in stock an also collected funds to be donated to us
  • Encore Cafe at The Core who kept our food in stock and let us use their fridges and freezers
  • John Lewis who donated a fridge freezer so we could accept donations of fresh food
  • Waitrose who enabled us and our supporters to provide what older people need
  • Morrisons who donated food to our food bank
  • Elderberry Blacks Cafe who donated all their fresh stock when they closed for lockdown
  • Solihull Round Table who made several donations of food and other supplies (right)
  • Chris Brogan, Mandy Hart, Lynn Waddell, Liz & Andrew Morton and Anne Lavery from Broad Oaks Road Support 2020 who made substantial donations to our food bank every week
  • Knowle Masonic Centre who donated food and made financial donations
  • Crowne Plaza who donated fresh fruit
  • Individuals, including Saema Malik, Isobel Rose Stevenson and Mr and Mrs Patel, who donated food and other supplies

It's been truly incredible to see the community come together to help the most vulnerable in our society. We would not have been able to do what we have without the support above.

Thank you all!