Older people
Older people
Empowering older people to live dignified, productive, independent, happy and healthy lives is vital for our society as a whole. Supporting this to happen is a delicately balanced partnership between the individual, their families, local community, voluntary and public sector organisations. Many of the recognised challenges for older people – a decline in physical and mental wellbeing, social isolation, financial struggle, bereavement and loneliness – have been made more apparent and understood by our society during the many months of lockdown. During the pandemic we have had the opportunity to really engage in supporting this vulnerable portion of our society. Equally, when the resources the older population provide (as grandparents and community volunteers) is removed from our day-to-day lives, it is immediately clear what a huge asset their life skills and experience brings to our lives. As we move forward into a ‘new normal’, it will become even more crucial to work hard together to address their needs and harness their vital contribution.
The charities helping older people in Suffolk need your financial and practical support to do their work.
Want to learn more? Read our latest news on Older People here.
I want to help older people in Suffolk
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Why people support Older People
Empowering our older people to live a fulfilling life is really important. In Suffolk, we have got a growing population, but to make sure we can support our older people, there really is a delicate balance to be created. When everyone works together, we can achieve some fantastic results.
The Foundation has worked with individuals, public sector and local businesses to provide crucial financial support to a range of organisations from charities to community groups and good neighbourhood schemes. I’d like to say a big thank you from the Chamber and the Business community to all those in the voluntary sector that helped to get Suffolk back on its feet.
Our mission is to connect rural people in Suffolk to each other and their communities, and to try and catalyse community activity that includes everybody. When the pandemic hit, we immediately sent all of our communities the suggestion of creating a phone tree, because we wanted to make sure that people who were not ‘tech savvy’ were included. We then went online to create an inspirational page of creative ways to engage socially while physically distanced, and we turned out calendar into a diary of events people could take part in. I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported the Rebuilding Local Lives Appeal, and the Suffolk Community Foundation who too have supported us during this time.
The panel voted unanimously to provide funding to the Warden’s Charitable Trust in Sizewell to host activity days for people affected by dementia, their families and carers.
We supported 16 workshops to provide vital support and interaction for local people who are often faced with social isolation.
Foxhall Daycare Centre was an ideal cause for us to support as it completely meets our objectives. We can’t get to the grassroots that Suffolk Community Foundation can, so they’ve been a great asset here for us.
Older People stories
Read the stories below which highlight the key areas where we are helping to support older people in Suffolk.