Confectionery giant, Cadbury Dairy Milk has joined forces with Age UK in a bid to combat loneliness. The partnership comes as new research reveals that four and a half million people claim to have felt lonely during later life.
The ‘Donate your words’ campaign launched with new Cadbury chocolate bars hitting the supermarket shelves with the words removed from them, as the research also found that 225,000 older people often go for a week without speaking to anyone.
For every limited edition bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk sold, Cadbury will donate 30p to Age UK to support older people through our national advice line, telephone friendship service and more. The campaign will also encourage Brits to donate their words by pledging to reach out and have a chat with older people in their communities.
According to the survey conducted by the brand and charity, some of the actions that would help older people feel more confident when outside the home are:
1. Knowing their neighbours (38 percent)
2. Someone smiling or saying hello when at bus stop/in a queue (26 percent)
3. A neighbour stopping by and saying hello (24 percent)
4. Someone asking how their day has been (21 percent)
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “Loneliness is a huge problem because retirement, bereavement & ill health mean many older people find they are spending a lot less time enjoying the company of others than they’d like.
“Loneliness can affect your health, your wellbeing and the way you see yourself – it can make you feel invisible and forgotten. Working with Cadbury Dairy Milk on this campaign could really help to raise even more awareness of the issue and encourage everybody to do their bit to help tackle it.
“A friendly “hello” or “how are you?” is something most of us take for granted – it’s just part of every day life, but these latest figures show that hundreds of thousands of older people in the UK will spend today and the rest of this week alone, with no one to share even a few simple words with. That’s why Age UK’s expert advice and support services are so crucial and help people in all sorts of ways, every day of the year.”
Are you feeling lonely? Speak to someone about this or read our tips on how to prevent social isolation.
