As Time to Shine goes into its final year, under the most difficult of circumstances for everyone, we have decided to give you a monthly update of where our focus has been, and what we’ve been doing.

April 2020

With lockdown beginning on March 23 (and some staff in isolation before that) we had fully shifted our operation to home working by the beginning of April. Our focus for the month was on:

• reassuring and supporting our delivery partners
• staying connected with individual older people who work with us
• promoting and supporting Leeds’ response to COVID-19
• sharing the amazing work going on as organisations adapt to the new circumstances
• establishing our own new ways of operating to ensure that our work continues as seamlessly as possible, with staff and volunteers remaining connected and supported

We have:

• provided information for organisations and individuals on where to get support around COVID-19
• produced a guide and a resource pack to help organisations adapt to telephone befriending
• published blogs about how to use technology with groups, in organisations, and across generations
• worked with partners to adapt the Age Proud Leeds campaign
• liaised with partners across the city to develop Shine Magazine, to capture the stories of older people in isolation across Leeds
• worked with partners at Voluntary Action-Leeds and Leeds City Council to develop ‘RU OK?’ telephone check-in service and training for volunteers.

May 2020

Among other activities during this month, we expect to:

• launch message 3 – Ageism: what does it do to us? – of Age Proud Leeds
• continue to stay in contact with our delivery partners and to share their experiences
• work with partners throughout Leeds to distribute Shine Magazine, and develop a plan to issue it fortnightly throughout lockdown
• train volunteers for RU OK?
• support Leeds City Council and all voluntary sector agencies to provide a co-ordinated approach to Covid-19
• campaign through “Time to Shine a Light on Loneliness” to highlight the impact of lockdown on people of all ages.

Linda Glew
Time to Shine Programme Manager (Legacy)