A charity which helps the elderly says it may be forced to withdraw support for some of the most vulnerable in the community within months unless it raises £500,000.

Age UK Medway has now launched a massive fundraising drive to raise the money to aid its efforts in helping older people in the Towns.

Last year, the service provided 200,000 hours of care to the elderly in its day centres and another 6,500 to people in their own homes.

Age UK Medway also delivered 9,000 hot meals to their door and helped older people claim over £11 million in welfare benefits.

The charity's chief executive John Norley said: “Ours is a charity which helps older people live their later lives as fully as possible.

"For many, our day centres are the place they look forward to coming to, and in some cases, we are the only person they speak to in a week.

"But the situation Covid-19 has presented us with is so challenging, that support for even the most vulnerable of older people may be gone within a matter of months.

"We receive no funding from local government, and there is little financial support available from the national Age UK charity, so we have no-one looking after our future.

"We really are on our own, and in desperate need of help.”

In the coming weeks, the charity plans to rollout services designed to replace those which have been lost to its clients by the closure of their day centres, details of which can be found on their website.

Anyone wishing to make a donation to Age UK Medway should call the charity’s head office on 01634 790127, or visit their website.

For the latest coronavirus news and advice, click here.

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