Omega Ending Isolation Ending Loneliness

03/11/2026

Befriending Week!

At Omega Ending Isolation Ending Loneliness, we support people experiencing loneliness and social isolation, and we rely on our team of nearly 400 amazing volunteer befrienders to help us deliver these services.

Our volunteers come from all walks of life, and include students studying psychology and social sciences, thanks to our collaboration with a number of universities across the country.

This is Asli, a university student who has recently completed a short work placement with Omega, which included volunteering as a telephone befriender. This involved calling her client once a week over six months, for a friendly chat. You can read more about Asli’s experience, and what she gained from it, below.

We are so grateful to Asli and every one of our volunteer telephone and pen pal befrienders, for bringing friendship and connection to people who are lonely and isolated. Thank you!

Would you like to join our team of volunteer befrienders? We’d love to hear from you! Link in the comments below.


Befriending Networks

02/11/2026

Befriending Week!

Befriending Week is a good time to remind everyone about the main befriending services we offer here at Omega, and the ways we can help you, or anyone you know who is experiencing loneliness or social isolation. 💛💛

Telephone befriending – ‘Chatterbox’ is our telephone befriending service, where we match people who are experiencing profound loneliness, and who struggle to access other social events, with carefully trained volunteers, for a weekly chat. Calls last for six months and offer friendship and comfort.

Pen pal befriending – ‘Letterbox’ is our pen pal befriending service, where we match people experiencing loneliness with a volunteer pen pal, to exchange letters at least once a month. Many of our clients and volunteers find they really enjoy the creative process of putting pen to paper, sharing their experiences, stories and memories, and sometimes even small gifts!

Pupil Pals – this is our inter-generational programme, where we work with schools and other groups to raise awareness of loneliness, asking the children to create cheerful cards and artwork, which we send by post to our older clients, some of whom are care home residents.

We couldn’t deliver our services without the support of our team of nearly 400 active volunteer befrienders – so a huge shout out and thank you to every one of you, this Befriending Week!

To find out more about our services, or how to volunteer as a befriender, please see links in the comments below.


Befriending Networks

01/11/2026

Befriending Week!

This November Omega is supporting , an annual campaign to raise awareness of befriending and highlight the power of social connection in reducing loneliness and social isolation.

Loneliness affects 1 in 6 people across the world. Befriending brings people together for planned social activities, building meaningful connections and reducing loneliness.

Befriending Week takes place from 1 to 7 November every year. It’s a chance for communities to raise awareness about befriending, celebrate the contributions of befriending volunteers and the staff who support them, and advocate for befriending to local and national decision-makers.

Here at , we’re going to be posting stories across the week, showcasing our befriending services and our brilliant befrienders themselves, and demonstrating just how powerful befriending can be. You can also find out more about the services Omega offers – link in the comments below.

27/10/2026

Recycle with Omega to help us raise funds!

Did you know that Omega can turn your unwanted items into money, to help fund our befriending services?

💌 Stamps - we accept all types of postage stamps, new or used, domestic or foreign.

💵 Currency - we accept all types of currency, new or used, domestic or foreign.

🖨️ Ink Cartridges - we accept all types of inkjet printer cartridges (not laser toner).

💻 Tech - we accept all types of working, undamaged smartphones, tablet computers, games consoles, sat nav systems, digital cameras, iPods and MP3 players.

Our brilliant office volunteer Peter looks after all of our recycling, and received this cheque this morning for our the latest batch, which will go straight towards funding our work.

Thank you, Peter and Recycling For Good Causes!

You can find out more about helping us raise funds through recycling by clicking on the link in the comments below.👇

22/10/2026

Our volunteers are amazing!

Look at these beautiful cards, created by our Letterbox volunteer befriender Susan. Susan responded to our request over the summer to help fill the gap in our Pupil Pals cards and artwork, while our Pupil Pals schools were on holiday. 💛

Through our Pupil Pals programme, we raise awareness of loneliness, by asking primary school children to create cards and artwork, which we then send to our older clients, many of whom are in care homes.

If you know of a primary school or other groups that would like to create cards for Omega Ending Isolation Ending Loneliness to send to our clients, or if you would like to create some colourful cards yourself, we would love to hear from you!

We know how much our clients enjoy receiving the cards, as they often tell us: “It puts a smile on my face. It is nice to know pupils are being taught to consider other people.”

Thank you for creating these beautiful cards, Susan!

Link to find out more about Pupil Pals in the comments.


Triangle HR Limited

14/10/2026

Omega's autumn newsletter is here!

See the links in the comments to read the newsletter, and to sign up to future newsletters. 💛

07/10/2026

This morning the Board of Trustees for Omega Ending Isolation Ending Loneliness had its quarterly meeting at our offices in Shrewsbury, with some Trustees joining remotely.

As a charity, we are governed by our Board of Trustees who are legally responsible for the overall management and governance of Omega. They must act collectively to advance the charity's purposes, ensure public benefit, and comply with all governing documents and relevant laws, such as those related to employment, health and safety, and data protection.

This morning's Board meeting received key updates from our Director, David Crosby, on our support programmes and finances, and a presentation from our Acting Letterbox Team Leader, Adam Heywood, on how we recruit, induct and support our volunteers.

The Board also approved the appointment of Sara Taylor as a new Trustee - welcome aboard Sara! The Board would also like to thank Harj Dool who has stepped down as a Trustee after 18 months in post - thank you for your support Harj.

Find out more about our Trustees via the link in Comments below. 👇

05/10/2026

Funding News!

We are so pleased to have been awarded a grant from the Wynn Foundation, towards delivering and expanding our pen-pal service Letterbox within Shropshire.

Last week we welcomed Wynn Foundation trustee Luke, who met with Omega's director David to present the grant cheque.

Our Letterbox service supports people experiencing profound loneliness, who are often housebound. Clients are matched with a volunteer pen pal and exchange regular letters through the post.

The funding will help us reach more people experiencing loneliness and isolation. Find out more about Letterbox on our website – link in the comments.

A huge thank you to the Wynn Foundation for supporting our vital work. 💛

30/09/2026

All of us at Omega Ending Isolation Ending Loneliness are sorry to hear of the passing of Dame Esther Rantzen, founder of the Silver Line Helpline for older people now run by Age UK. RIP Dame Esther.

Her family paid tribute to her in a statement calling her the "most wonderful mother" and a "cherished grandmother".