Age UK launches its charter for life
OLDER people’s charity Age UK Lancashire officially launched its Charter for Later Life at a special event last Friday (April 21).
The event was held at the Wellbeing Resource Centre in Ormskirk with more than 80 people in attendance, including local older people, councillors, partner organisations and special guests Rosie Cooper MP for West Lancashire and Mayor of West Lancashire Cllr Liz Savage.
The charter has been developed by the charity over the past 10 months with input from older people’s groups, representatives and organisations.
Alison Read, engagement director at Age UK Lancashire said: “We wanted to develop a charter which all of our staff and volunteers can commit to as well as our partners and friends.
“Our charter cuts through the politics, the funding regimes, the noise of systems and processes and makes a simple and clear set of commitments to those who will always be at the heart of everything we do, those in later life”.
In difficult financial times for the charity sector, due to reduced funding and grant opportunities, Age UK Lancashire felt it was important to show its commitment to older people by outlining what it stands for and believes in and how it will continue to strive to support people from all backgrounds, cultures, minority groups and areas of Lancashire and North Sefton.
Chief executive of Age UK Lancashire, Stephanie Tufft, who was there to launch the charter added: “We have a clear direction and know what our responsibilities are to older people.
“The way we once worked has changed and we have to develop new relationships and discover new ways to raise funds in order for us to engage with and support as many older people across the county as possible.
“I believe our charter highlights the work we already do really well and goes a step further to show our future commitments to the older population.”
As part of the event, people were given the opportunity to sign up to support the charter and also find out about all the services that the charity provides in Lancashire.
Alison added: “The turnout has been fantastic and we would like to thank Rosie Cooper and Liz Savage for coming along to support us.
“Many of our partner organisations and local councillors were also here and I think that shows what an important piece of work this has been.”
The charity provides many vital services and looks for opportunities to fund new projects.
Information about the services and charter can be found at www.ageuklancs.org.uk or by calling 0300 303 1234.