Winter & Summer Cheer Campaigns
Partnering with Iceland Foods and Age UK Lambeth, the ‘Winter Cheer’ campaign was designed to support the 8,000 older people the Foundation had identified as living in poverty in the Lambeth area over the festive period.
The campaign ran throughout the whole of December 2021 and into January 2022, providing eligible residents with a £30 Iceland gift voucher to spend in one of seven local Iceland stores. Age UK Lambeth provided a telephone hotline so that older people who relied purely on a State Pension or benefits could call them and then be sent a voucher, helping to make it easier for them to celebrate over the Christmas period. In total, the Lambeth Winter Cheer campaign helped 2,017 older people living in deprivation in Lambeth. Importantly, it also increased the number of people aware of Age UK’s local Lambeth branch, and the support services it offers, by over two thirds.
Following the success of the ‘Winter Cheer’ campaign, the Foundation expanded its partnership with Iceland Foods and Age UK to significantly increase its support for the growing number of older people living in poverty in the UK.
The ‘Summer Cheer’ campaign was rolled out in 269 Iceland stores in 2022 and successfully provided over 80,000 older people living in deprivation with a £30 voucher, giving them a small amount of relief as their living costs continued to increase. With each Iceland voucher, participants received a copy of Age UK’s information guide on financial advice and claiming benefits, to help older people and their carers understand what support they might be eligible for. Participants were also offered the opportunity to have their details saved by the Foundation so they could be included in future campaigns which might help them.