Final whistle for Age Scotland and Rangers Charity Foundation partnership

Age Scotland has marked the end of a successful season-long partnership with the Rangers Charity Foundation at an event at Nan McKay Hall in Pollokshields, Glasgow today (Monday 30 May).

The Foundation announced Age Scotland as its National Charity Partner in October 2021 and, over the past few months, the two organisations have been working closely with the aim of helping more older people access the social security and financial support they are entitled to.

Former Rangers star Alex Rae presented Age Scotland with a cheque for £25,000 to help support ongoing efforts to identify unclaimed social security for the increasing number of older people calling their free helpline for an entitlement check.

The charity believes this support and raising awareness of both pensioner poverty and barriers to social security faced by older people is particularly timely, with 150,000 pensioners in Scotland in poverty, 220,000 older households living in fuel poverty and many more on the cusp feeling the strain of the rapidly rising cost of living.

Age Scotland’s Chief Executive, Brian Sloan, said:

“Pensioner poverty is an issue that still gets far less attention than it deserves. The number of people affected have been creeping up in recent years and there must be a concerted effort from all angles if we want to see a change for the better.

“We’ve been delighted to team up with Rangers Charity Foundation throughout this partnership to further our shared commitment to supporting older people.

“With the cost of energy, food and other essentials spiraling and many at risk of being pushed into poverty as a result, it’s never been more important to ensure older people are able and supported to claim every penny of financial support they are entitled to.

“While our partnership may be drawing to a close, the donation will have a lasting impact on our services and allow us to support even more older people, their families and carers to understand their social security entitlements and how to claim.

“We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone at the Foundation, their supporters and fundraisers, for their fantastic efforts and support this season.”

Gillian McKelvie from the Rangers Charity Foundation said:

“The Rangers Charity Foundation is heavily involved in the community and having seen the impact Covid-19 has had on local older people we wanted to do more to support them. So it has great to team up with Age Scotland to try and address issues such as pensioner poverty and loneliness by raising this money for its invaluable helpline.”