PRESS RELEASE
Main Contact: Karen Steele – Marketing and Partnerships Manager
Tel: 02920 683 604 / 07584 346 015
For immediate release: Thursday 26th August 2021
Age Connects Cardiff and the Vale and Burns Pet Nutrition continue to work in partnership for the good of the community. This September, Age Connects will be running its very first charity dog walking fundraiser and encouraging dog owners to sign up, get active and Take the Lead to help end the loneliness and isolation faced by vulnerable older people. Why not walk for an older person you care or cared about?
In addition to supporting older people in need, for every £1000 raised collectively through the campaign, Burns Pet Nutrition will be donating vital dog food supplies to a local animal shelter to spread the community spirit to our four-legged friends too.
The challenge is for dog owners to walk the length of a Marathon (26.2 miles) or alternatively a Half Marathon (13.1 miles) with their furry friends over the 30 days of September 2021. Although participants will be taking on the marathon distance individually within their own time and preferred locations, we will be united as the “Take the Lead” team to help end older isolation. Simply head to the Age Connects Cardiff and the Vale @ACCV Facebook page to find out more and sign up to join the team.
Two fifths of all older people aged 65 plus (about 3.9 million) say the television is their main company*. With this in mind, the campaign hopes to raise at least £3900 during the month of September to tackle isolation in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. The monies raised will be invested directly into the charity’s Community Support Project which plays a vital part in ensuring local older people have access to basic help and emotional support they rightly need and deserve.
Karen Steele, Age Connects Marketing and Partnerships Manager explains “A sponsored dog walk is a great way to get animal lovers out for a bit of exercise and fresh air. It also provides a much-needed opportunity to ask supporters to fundraise to help us reach out to even more local older people facing loneliness and isolation and the challenges it brings. We urge people to please join us throughout September, take the lead and let’s make a real difference in putting an end to older isolation”.
This sentiment is backed by John Burns, who said “Our mission is to help as many dogs and humans as we can. Our ongoing partnership with Age Connects allows us to help reduce the social isolation faced by older people and we urge all dog owners to get involved this September to help us help. As per our mission, not only will we be making a difference to the lives of older people but also to dogs currently homed in a local shelter. For every £1000 raised we will make a donation of supplies to support a local animal shelter too. It’s a win win situation for all involved”.
For more information and to join this challenge, you simply need to visit the Age Connects September Dog Walking Challenge Facebook Group, set up your Facebook fundraiser and spread the word! https://fb.me/e/1Ffn6vUHb
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Notes to the Editor:
Research sources: *Age, U.K., 2014. Evidence Review: Loneliness in Later Life. London: Age UK
Age Connects Cardiff and the Vale is the operating title of Age Concern Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. Age Connects Cardiff and the Vale is an independent local charity that has been providing services for older people since 1974. A local and independently run charity, which reaches out to older people in the region, many of whom live alone, are physically frail and live below the poverty line.
