Wakefield is a deprived area where the rates of older people living in poverty is almost double the national average. On top of this, the life expectancy is amongst the lowest in England.

Age UK Wakefield promote the wellbeing of all older people in their community and to help make life fulfilling and enjoyable. We are delighted to have raised £191,900 from from the Henry Smith Charity to support the charity achieve their mission.

This grant from the Henry Smith Charity will enable Age UK Wakefield's befriending service to continue for another three years. The service matches socially isolated older people with volunteers to reduce levels of loneliness. Thanks to the support of Henry Smith's the befriending service will support 660 isolated older people over the next three years.

2023 evaluation of the befriending service found that 100% of clients felt less lonely.

We have been working with for Age UK Wakefield since 2019. To date we have raised them almost £1,500,000 with a success rate of 79%. We look forward to continuing to raise additional funding to support older people across Wakefield.