There are over 5000 lonely older people in Northumberland. Age UK Northumberland's vision is to ensure older people enjoy later life in Northumberland.
There are over 5000 lonely older people in Northumberland. Age UK Northumberland's vision is to ensure older people enjoy later life in Northumberland. Image: Age UK Northumberland

Age UK Northumberland

Supporting older adults, their families and carers
Founded: 1944

Charity Details

Full Name: Age UK Northumberland
Field: Community Services
Founded: 1944
Headquarters: Northumberland, NE63 9JZ
Charity No.: 1072394

History and Activities

Age UK Northumberland is an independent charity which supports older adults, their families and carers, throughout Northumberland. It is one of 170 independent charities within the Age UK group providing local services on a national scale. The group can trace its origin to 1940 when the National Council of Social Service recognised the need for a new organisation to ‘study the needs of old people and to encourage and promote measures for their well-being’. Before the end of the Second World War the National Old People's Welfare Committee (NOPWC) was established to improve living conditions and provide quality services specifically for older adults.

The main service provided by the charity is their Home Care service which delivered over 390,000 hours of support in 2017. This allowed approximately 800 older adults to remain in their communities who would otherwise be taken into care. To achieve this they employ a team of 250 Home Care support workers. In order to deliver their wide-ranging programme of services, they have a healthy volunteer base of over 130 people. In 2017 a team of committed volunteers provided over 4,000 home cooked two-course meals, delivered via 6 lunch clubs. Through the Age UK Northumberland befriending service, volunteers provide life-changing support to socially isolated older people. An estimated £1.5 million was secured last year to provide information, advice and services to older adults. One example of how this funding was used is the ‘advocacy service’, funded through the Ballinger Trust, Macmillan and Comic Relief, the service has helped over 127 people.

Although the overwhelming proportion of their income in 2017 was derived from its contract income to deliver the Home Care service, Age UK Northumberland also received over £200,000 in grants. The largest grants included £46, 413 from the Ballinger Trust and £32,068 from Macmillan Cancer Support which helped directly support the advocacy project.

Vital Statistics (year to 31/12/2017)

Total Income (TI):
£5,407,416
Philanthropic Income (PI):
£265,110
PI as % of TI:
5%
Employees:
439
Volunteers:
130
Charitable Spending:  
£5,728,118
Investments at Year End:
£1 *100% of the issued share capital of Age UK Northumberland Trading Ltd

Website
https://www.ageuk.org.uk/Northumberland/

References

Charities Commission. (2017). Northumberland Age UK, Available here (Accessed 02/10/2018).

Ramsey, D. (1952) ‘The National Old People’s Welfare Committee of the United Kingdom’, in Journal of Gerontology, 7:3, pp. 501-503.