Independent Age | Supporting older people - Christmas Telephone Group Appeal

For most of us, Christmas and New Year are times for getting together with family and friends. We look forward to warm conversation and pleasant company, to joy, laughter, gifts and goodwill. But for many older people, it is a time of dread, a time of even greater loneliness and isolation.

Those over the age of 75 are the most vulnerable to isolation but it is an experience endured by thousands of older people every day, often due to bereavement, illness or reduced mobility. In addition to spending most days completely alone, there are hundreds of thousands of older people, who, through no fault of their own, will spend the festive season by themselves too.

Almost 30% of older people in the UK live on their own, making loneliness a painful reality for so many. This is why Independent Age is committed to expanding our services to tackle this issue head on.

You may have already heard about our Live Wires scheme - a series of telephone friendship groups, providing lonely and isolated participants with the opportunity to regularly speak in small groups, free of charge. Live Wires offers a lifeline to hundreds of people across the UK and Ireland, no matter how remote their location. The calls are a welcome break from the isolation they face every day, and participants are reassured they are not alone.

Independent Age hopes to extend the reach of Live Wires and other social networking activities this year throughout the UK. This means that many more older people will have the burden of loneliness reduced. But to do that, we need your help.

A donation from you this winter will help Independent Age reach out to many more older people. Without the help of our supporters, we would have to turn away countless people who are in desperate need.

Please click here to make a donation to help us continue making a positive impact on the lives of lonely older people.

Photos are posed by models to protect the identity of our beneficiaries.