british
red cross
Vicky Day,
one of our
new British
Red Cross
Community
Connectors
The next
chapter
Two years ago, we set off on a journey together
to try and raise £3.5m to help tackle loneliness
across our communities. Not only did we
achieve that target – we smashed it!
B
ecause of your hard
work fundraising for
the British Red Cross,
we raised a whopping
£6 million! Now we
can help change the lives of
12,500 people experiencing
loneliness by funding new
Community Connectors in
39 locations across the UK.
Our total
Funeralcare and Legal Services
colleagues raised £62.6k!
Bringing
communities
together
Meet Vicky Day (above), one of our
new Community Connectors, who’s
helping build confidence in people
who are lonely and finding things of
interest to them in their local community.
In 2016, Vicky was a passenger in
a friend’s car when a drunk driver hit them
and she was rushed to hospital with life-
threatening injuries. Vicky had suffered
damage to her spinal cord and the nerves
in her leg, leaving her unable to walk.
Vicky’s mobility issues meant she felt
alone and socially isolated. She explained:
“I didn’t want to leave the house because
I didn’t feel I was able to do anything
for myself. Thankfully the Red Cross gave
me the support and courage I needed to
go back out in public.”
When Vicky saw the opportunity to help
others facing loneliness as a Community
Connector, she jumped at the chance.
If you’re feeling
lonely or just
want to talk
Our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is
where you can get confidential support on a wide
range of health, lifestyle and wellbeing matters
whenever you need it. As you’d expect, our EAP
includes signposting to the new British Red Cross
services for those experiencing loneliness. If you’re
feeling lonely or just want to talk to someone,
you can call our EAP free of charge on
0800 970 1030 any time – day or night.
The service is provided by Validium,
an independent third party, and it’s
completely confidential.
“When I saw the role I knew straight
away I had to apply. It was something
I’ve experienced first-hand – the loneliness
and social isolation after my accident,”
she said. “I can’t wait to start my new
role as a Community Connector and help
other people who’ve been in situations
like mine.”
But it doesn’t stop here. Because we’ve
smashed the fundraising target, we’ll be
working with British Red Cross to look at
ways we can support even more people who
are experiencing loneliness to reconnect
with their communities. Stay tuned!
Our Voice / June 2017
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