About Oldalone UK
Since loneliness among the growing elderly population is factual, Oldalone UK was created as an initiative to help tackle loneliness among older people through diverse activities. Loneliness tarnishes the lives of elderly people with depression which is known to lower the autoimmune defences in the human body, potentially exposing their sufferers to depression-related ailments.
We are fully aware that without the help of our dear community, we could not achieve as much as we are looking forward to. That is the reason why we are calling on everyone to join our dedicated “caregivers team” of volunteers and help us bring about positive changes on our older people’s lives. Remember: Their present may be our future. We are inviting you to embrace our ideals and pave the way for a fulfilling and happy later life for everyone.
Currently, we are contacting local neighbourhoods, care homes, hospitals and hospices where a significant number of elderly people affected by loneliness reside. Our aim is to befriend and accompany them, to build a friendship based on solid and ethical values where the priority is our older people’s well-being.
There are many simple ways we can all help to make sure everyone enjoys a meaningful later life. Currently, Oldalone UK focuses on the following:
Friendship and companionship
Recreational opportunities and leisure activities
Providing and improving senior citizen’s ICT skills
If you are interested in volunteering with us please download a volunteer form and return it to us. Alternatively, you can fill it online and send us the completed application form via e-mail.
Patron
Lady Pilar Brennan
” Isolation and loneliness are so sad when suffered by the old. Please remember wherever you can to show kindness, sympathy and understanding to the old alone. It is so worthwhile especially when much more people
are now living to older ages than in the past.”
Meet Our Team
Izabela Branisteanu (The Chair)
Izabela is a qualified teacher with over 20 years of experience teaching diverse groups, ranging from young children to adults. She has accumulated a vast set of skills which enable her to empathise with students. Having come from an Eastern European background, she understands the struggles foreigners have when adjusting to a new culture, language and customs. Izabela holds a degree in Special Needs Psychology and she worked for a few years for the National Autistic Society and for the British Relief Fund for Romania as a play worker in a children’s hospital. Izabela is keen to expand her learning by undertaking new challenges and she is determined to make a great contribution within Oldalone UK.
Luisa Brands (Chief Executive Officer)
Master in International Law. Fellow of the Institute of Paralegals UK (IoP), Member of The New York City Paralegals Association (NYCPA) and Member of the NGO Committee on Ageing United Nations, NY; Luisa is a Human Rights Advocate whose aim is helping to promote more age-friendly, inclusive and just communities.
She is passionate about doing her best for the benefit of the most vulnerable and deprived. As such, Luisa is fully committed to uphold Oldalone UK’s values to promote the care, the respect and the dignity older people deserve.
Gonzalo Delgado (Finance Director)
Senior international business leader. A nimble financial executive with vast experience in sales, marketing, finance operations and risk management working across several countries such as Chile, United Kingdom, Poland France and the United States. Gonzalo is an Industrial Engineer and a Master in Business Administration as well as a Master in Business Law. As a treasurer for Oldalone UK, Gonzalo is executing his wide executive-level strategic perspective and applying his experience in leading the way to successful resolutions, transformation and evolution onto the financial management of the organisation.
Christopher Thompson (trustee)
Max has a degree in Art and Design and City and Guilds, a certificate in Theology with an accredited bible school in Northern England, and a Delta diploma in teaching English as a foreign language. He had taught for over twenty years in the UK, Turkey, Israel and Japan.
He is passionate about immersing in various cultures, which he gained by his extensive travelling in over 60 countries. He is an established artist, specialising in watercolor painting and photography. He loves being with people and people love his warmth and generosity.
Ionela Flood (trustee)
She is an economist with studies at ASE Bucharest and Buckinghamshire University, London. She received a scholarship in cultural management from the Ministry of Culture, Romania, in 1999, to study in Italy, Greece, France and Great Britain. She has been living in London since 2001 where she completed a PhD research in Project Management, while developing different projects for Romanians abroad.
Vera Mayson (Head Chef)
Vera is a highly experienced chef and a valuable member of our team. She is an enthusiastic lady who is well known in the third sector for having supported a number of not-for-profit organisations such as the British Red Cross and The Jesuit Refugee Service as a skilled cook. Today, she is bringing his upbeat and positive attitude together with his passion for food and quality; to the forefront of Oldalone UK’s “Gourmet Food For All” project, which aims to treat the organisation’s beneficiaries to the ultimate gourmet experience.