Age UK and The Silver Line join forces in the fight against loneliness

Age UK and The Silver Line have joined forces. The Silver Line, a charity for older people, is best known for its national 24/7 helpline which offers emotional support and friendship for older people.

By joining forces, the ambition is to help more of the older people who most need The Silver Line’s vital loneliness services. Its helpline receives over 10,000 calls a week, and its befriending services support 2,000 older people. But demand is ever-increasing, so the charities will combine their strengths to enable The Silver Line to reach more people and to raise the much needed donations on which it relies. The Silver Line is a well-known and well-respected name and will continue, with the charity becoming a subsidiary of Age UK.

The Silver Line recently restructured to help make its vital funding go further and its new partnership with Age UK aims to support its sustainability for the benefit of the older people who rely on its support.

Dame Esther Rantzen, founder of The Silver Line said: “Meeting the escalating demand and finding the funds to answer every call has been a constant and exhausting challenge and joining forces with Age UK is an exciting new chapter in the life of The Silver Line. It follows a very similar story to when we joined Childline with the NSPCC in 2005. Looking back that was the best decision we ever made, and that partnership enabled Childline to grow and develop in ways that would have been impossible had the charity remained on its own.”

Sophie Andrews OBE, CEO of The Silver Line said: “In a short space of time The Silver Line has become a lifeline for thousands of lonely and isolated older people across the UK. I started as The Silver Line’s first employee and I am immensely proud of what we have achieved and how the organisation has grown. Joining forces with Age UK marks a significant step forward for the charity, one which will give us the stability to continue to deliver our vital services and to grow sustainably. I am thankful to all our supporters, volunteers and staff, past and present, who have helped us reach this point. We will continue to rely on you all for support and look forward to embarking on the next phase of the charity’s journey alongside you.”

Steph Harland, CEO of Age UK said: “We are very excited about what this partnership means for older people. Age UK’s focus is on helping the older people who need us most, including the millions of older people experiencing loneliness and isolation. We can’t do this alone. By joining forces with The Silver Line we’ll strengthen our complementary services with the aim of helping more older people while making every penny of funding stretch as far as we can. 

“The Silver Line offers an emotional lifeline to so many and, by complementing their services with Age UK’s more practical information and advice, we will together give older people a place to turn to for whatever they need. The Silver Line has a profound effect on the lives of the older people it supports and will be an important part of our fundraising efforts around loneliness.”

The Silver Line free helpline telephone number remains the same: 0800 4 70 80 90 and more information or details of how to donate can be found on the charity’s website at https://www.thesilverline.org.uk/

Notes to editors:

Age UK is a national charity that works with a network of partners, including Age Scotland, Age Cymru, Age NI and local Age UKs across England, to help everyone make the most of later life, whatever their circumstances.

In the UK, the Charity helps more than seven million older people each year by providing advice and support.  It also researches and campaigns on the issues that matter most to older people. Its work focuses on ensuring that older people: have enough money; enjoy life and feel well; receive high quality health and care; are comfortable, safe and secure at home; and feel valued and able to participate.

Age UK’s subsidiary charity, Age International, supports older people globally in over 30 developing countries by funding programmes such as vital emergency relief and healthcare and campaigning to raise awareness and change policies.

Age UK is a charitable company limited by guarantee and registered in England (registered charity number 1128267 and registered company number 6825798). Charitable services are provided through Age UK and commercial products are offered by the Charity’s Community Interest Company (CiC) (registered company number 1102972) which donates its net profits to Age UK (the Charity)

Age UK

We work with our national partners, Age Scotland, Age Cymru and Age NI and our local Age UK partners in England (together the Age UK Family). We also work internationally for people in later life as a member of the DEC and with our sister charity Help Age International.

Age UK believes that everyone should have the opportunity to make the most of later life, whatever their circumstances. We provide free information, advice and support to over six million people; commercial products and services to over one million customers; and research and campaign on the issues that matter to people in later life. Our work focuses on five key areas: money matters, health and well-being, home and care, work and training and leisure and lifestyle.

Age UK is a charitable company limited by guarantee and registered in England (registered charity number 1128267 and company number 6825798). Age Concern England and Help the Aged (both registered charities), and their trading and other associated companies merged on the 1st April 2009. Together they have formed the Age UK Group ("we"). Charitable services are offered through Age UK and commercial products are offered by the Charity's trading companies, which donate their net profits to Age UK (the Charity).