Run the Royal Parks Half Marathon with us 9 October 2011

photo by thadz from http://www.sxc.hu/

We have ten places available this year torun the Royal Parks Half Marathon in London this October. Applications willl be accepted for Independent Age Gold Bond Places from March 2011 and successful applicants will be informed by the end of May. We ask runners for a deposit of £50 and to pledge to raise at least £250 for Independent Age. To register interest or to receive a Golden Bond application form, please email events@independentage.org.uk or call Harriet on 020 7605 4288.

If you're after a challenge that's more artistic than athletic, the Royal Parks Foundation have launched a competition to design their official 2011 Royal Parks Half Marathon race shirt.

Details on the competition can be found here: http://www.royalparkshalf.com/runners/running-kit/

The competition closes at noon on Thursday, 10 February 2011, so you'd better (ahem) race to get your entries in.

Sorry, that was terrible. But good luck to you all.

Scams Awareness Month

The Office of Fair Trading has declared February 2011 Scams Awareness Month, and we're glad to spread the word, since older people are the most common victims of scams.

It's not just older people who are affected, though: nearly half of the UK population has been targeted by scams, and more than three million adults - 6.5% of the adult population - fall victim to scams, losing £3.5 billion per year.

To help stop the scammers, the Office of Fair Trading has produced a 'scambuster' guide that explains some of the most common scams (clairvoyants and psychics, email bank account transfer scams, pyramid schemes, etc) and how to avoid them. You can also find out more from the Office of Fair Trading website.

Campaign to End Loneliness launches today

The Campaign to End Loneliness launches today, 1 February 2011. The campaign, a collaborative effort between Independent Age, Age UK Oxfordshire, Counsel and Care, and WRVS and funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, aims to fight loneliness and isolation in older people.

Although research suggests that loneliness is a greater threat to health than obesity, and as bad as lifelong smoking, fewer than 1 in 5 people have ever seen or heard information about loneliness as a health risk, and fewer than 1 in 3 who work in health and social care professions have.

The campaign aims to raise awareness of the risks of loneliness and to make sure they are treated as a serious risk to public health.

A report, Safeguarding the Convoy, is also published today to accompany the campaign, and calls for others to join and take action to end loneliness in order to future proof forthcoming generations of older people against it.

Visit http://www.campaigntoendloneliness.org.uk/ for more information or to download a copy of the report.