Natalie de Silva is more than a manager.
Age UK Wandsworth is celebrating its diamond anniversary after 60 years of supporting older people in our community. In honour of this incredible milestone, Natalie will be embarking on a brave and vertigo-inducing feat to raise funds to support the work Age UK Wandsworth does, every day, in tackling loneliness among older people.
We had a chat with Natalie to find out more.
Hi Natalie! Tell us a bit about you and what you do.
I’m the CEO of Age UK Wandsworth, a local, independent charity, operating solely in our community. We aren’t governed or funded by Age UK the national charity, or the local council, which is a common misconception in the borough and means people sometimes think we don’t depend on local support.
It’s our 60th birthday this year and we can’t wait to celebrate with the community.
How are you choosing to celebrate your big anniversary?
On 29 April we are going to be abseiling down the UK’s tallest structure – the ArcelorMittal Orbit at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – which is a whopping 262ft tall.
There’s still time to register and join us, so face your fear, do something adventurous, and help us raise money for a very worth cause in our community. You’ll enjoy incredible views across the capital, spotting many of London’s most famous landmarks, and you’ll get to meet some great people, take on an exciting challenge, and help make a difference.
You can sponsor me here. Anything you can contribute would be much appreciated.
What does Age UK Wandsworth do?
We provide hospital discharge support; a handyperson who can come and install key safes and grab rails; we host coffee mornings to bring older people in the community together; we have two befriending services; a day centre for people living with dementia and other disabilities; online food shopping; digital classes; a dementia maintenance cognitive stimulation therapy group; a breakfast club for people struggling to heat their homes or afford food; information and advice, including benefits checks; and we have an LGBTQ+ group.
How can our community support the work you do?
We always need friendly volunteers from the community. Our brilliant volunteers are aged anywhere between 21 and 90, and live all over Wandsworth.
Sadly, there are still many desperately lonely and isolated older people in Wandsworth, so a volunteer who can pop in for a chat and a cup of tea once a week can make all the difference to their wellbeing.
We also need people who can use a smart phone or tablet to join us, ad hoc, at our digital drop-ins to help older people learn how to use their devices and develop skills, like sending emails and using the internet to help them stay connected.
If someone local has great admin skills we need volunteers to answer questions at our office when older people call or drop in.
We provide full training for all volunteering roles to help you make a huge difference to the lives of older people in our community.
If you don’t have time to volunteer but you’d still like to get involved, we will always be grateful for a kind financial donation to support the work we do. We also accept bags of non-perishable food as we get quite a lot of older people come to our office who are hungry because they cannot afford to buy food.
What’s it like working with the older community in Wandsworth?
There are many vulnerable, older people in Wandsworth who need our help and we get to come to work each day knowing that what we do can change someone’s life for the better. For example, an older gentleman came in recently who was living below the poverty line and couldn’t afford to eat, heat his home, or pay his rent, putting him at risk of homelessness. Our adviser helped him complete a benefits application form to try to increase his income, and we gave him bags of food and blankets to help keep him fed and warm.
We have the privilege of hearing so many different stories from people with such diverse backgrounds.
What do you love about Wandsworth Town?
I love the village feel of Wandsworth Town. It’s a great community to work in. We have good relationships with our neighbours on Old York Road, like Frenchies and York Road Dental Practice, who do kind and neighbourly things such as supporting our ventures and taking in our post for us.
Discover how you can help by visiting https://www.ageuk.org.uk/wandsworth/
