Dear

It's been a busy few months with lots of moments of joy in seeing new connections forming - read on to see the following news highlights:

• Celebrating your impact in our annual update report
• Spotlight: 2 Years building connections in Hampshire
• Bringing weekly messages of support to unpaid carers
• Churches across the UK committing to serving care home residents 

If you're looking for something to put a spring in your step, check out:

• 2025 poetry competition: get writing on the theme of Faith in Ageing 
• Spring Quiz available to buy and enjoy at home
• Words of Hope: a dementia-friendly resource available in hard copy or as an e-book to ponder Hope this Easter season

Last but not least, you'll find upcoming events and how you can volunteer to get involved and make a difference to older care home residents and unpaid carers.

Thank you for your part in our journey - our growth would not be possible without our volunteers and supporters like you!

Best wishes 

Sinéad and all the Embracing Age team

Over the last year, our incredible volunteers have brought joy to 1,845 older care home residents through visiting, cards, gifts and more!

You can read more about the difference the Embracing Age community is making through snapshots and heartwarming stories in our newly released annual update report via the button below. Please do share the update with anyone you think would be interested in hearing more about what we do.

Huge thanks to everyone who has enabled these stories and projects to take shape, especially our incredible volunteers, our generous supporters and our staff team.

March marks two years since we began our Hampshire area project, and Zoe and her local supporters have made some incredible strides. Thanks to the kindness and generosity of so many individuals and groups in the county, we are now linking with care homes and supporting residents in a growing number of areas and initiatives.

Milestones include:

• Our amazing befrienders have collectively spent over 550 hours with residents.
• On average, 80 residents have had contact with a befriender or taken part in a group activity with one of our volunteers each month.
• We’ve formed some amazing connections with schools, scouting groups, church groups and partnerships with local libraries.
• Over 1,200 Christmas cards were delivered to residents in 2024.
• Over 700 residents received gifts last year thanks to over 100 craft volunteers and groups giving their time and talents to make gifts, and items donated by customers through partnerships with local retailers.
• Growing links with local churches, including hosting two area conferences focused on equipping churches to support older people, and building new connections between churches and their local care home.

Read more about the positive impact we’ve made in Hampshire, the exciting initiatives still to come and the ways you can get involved to make an even bigger difference.

As well as our weekly Zoom gatherings, members of Carers Connected benefit from receiving our Weekly Message, which was introduced after attendees asked if they could receive a copy of the reflection of the week to use after the meeting. As well as sharing the reflection, the Weekly Message may also include bible verses, relevant news about Embracing Age, book recommendations or other items carers have contributed to circulate among the group. It's been really encouraging hearing from carers how useful they find this additional touchpoint, especially if they haven't been able to attend a gathering that week, with one carer saying "We are always invited to write in if we feel like sharing that way. It is always a personal note of encouragement to receive each week."

If you know any carers who might benefit from Carers Connected, please encourage them to contact Sarah Smith about joining us - she is happy to answer any queries about the gatherings or using Zoom, and will connect with them each week via the Weekly Message even if they can't attend a gathering.

It’s been great to see churches across the country joining the Embracing Age vision to see all care homes adopted by a local church.

Johnstone Baptist Church in Renfrewshire, Scotland has adopted two care homes after the care co-ordinator, Jackie, asked them to run services for residents, and the church members join the residents for tea afterwards. Jackie says ‘This has made a huge difference to our residents who were missing church, feeling let down and losing faith due to lack of church community.’

Paul was thrilled to visit Boscombe Baptist Church in Bournemouth to present their certificate of adoption and pray for their ministry with Avonview care home.

Zoe (our Hampshire Co-ordinator) recently had the privilege of presenting St Johns, Locks Heath (photo above) with a certificate acknowledging their work in 7 different care homes!

Does your church have links to your local care home? Could we add you to our group of churches we pray for as they carry out this important ministry? If your church is not yet supporting your local care home, would you like our support and ideas to begin building that relationship? Please get in touch with Paul Crowther, our Churches Co-ordinator, who would love to talk with you.

We are thrilled to announce this year's poetry competition and are delighted to welcome back our judges, Pam Rhodes, David Bilbrough and Andrew Pratt.

This year we are inviting aspiring poets aged over 50 to explore the profound theme of "Faith in Ageing." We want to celebrate the wisdom, resilience, and spiritual depth that often ​accompany the journey of growing older.

We encourage you to get creative and delve into the complexities of ageing, exploring themes of hope, reflection, acceptance, and the sustaining power of faith. Please visit the link below for full details.

We would also love your help spreading the word - here are some ideas of how you can help, and you can find a downloadable poster and press release on our website via the button below:

- Do you know older people who might like to enter this poetry competition?
- Could you put a poster up at your church or care home, or anywhere else?
- Could you put a notice in a church or community newsletter?
- Could you print off the competition guidelines for someone who isn't connected to the internet?
- Could you share the press release with others who might spread the word?

Are you looking for a fun-filled quiz to enjoy over the upcoming Easter break? Our latest fundraising quiz is available to buy from our website - based on spring and Easter themes, and a sporting round, it includes word games, multiple choice, true and false questions, and picture rounds so there's plenty for all ages to have a go, and you could win a £20 Costa voucher.

We welcome entries from individuals, families, groups of friends or colleagues, across the generations and we hope care home residents may be able to take part with their families, friends or befrienders too.

Please visit the button below to buy your copy now, and please do share the link to encourage friends and family to get one too - all copies sold help raise vital funds to help bring companionship to more older care home residents.

A perfect accompaniment for Lent and Easter, "Words of Hope" by our founder, Tina English, is designed for people living with dementia to enjoy short Bible verses in large print alongside vibrant pictures.

Twickenham - Quiz Night - Friday 6th June 2025 - By popular request, we're excited to be holding a quiz night in Twickenham with Sean Carey, a writer for The Chase, as Quiz Master. This is a free event with a suggested donation of £5 per person. We expect places to be fully booked, so secure your ticket now via the link below. If you don't have a team (up to 6 people), you'll be welcome to join one on the night. Do encourage your family, friends, colleagues to sign up too - we'd love to see you all there!

Are you thinking about starting something new this Spring?

There are so many ways you can have fun getting involved with us and make a big difference in the lives of older people at the same time. Many of these roles can be done from wherever you are in the country and offer a range of time requirements to fit around how much (or little!) time you can offer:

• Could you spare 1 hour a week to visit care home residents in Richmond, West Sussex, Hampshire or the Isle of Wight? We urgently need adult volunteers to meet the referral requests for residents in these areas.
• Could you use your craft skills to knit or crochet items for residents, or to make handmade cards?
• Could you get out and about to help deliver cards to a care home near you?
• Could you help build links between schools or community groups and their local care home? 
• Do you enjoy community fundraising? 
• Could you host Carers Connected Zoom sessions? 
• Are you good with IT systems, especially websites and CRM systems, and could offer some back office volunteer support? 

You can find full details of these and many more opportunities via the button below.

*Names may have been changed for anonymity

You can enjoy more photos and stories of what Embracing Age is up to via our website and social media icons below

Thank you for your support, we're really grateful that you're part of our vision.

Sinéad and all the team at Embracing Age