Every day, ScotRail operates thousands of journeys across Scotland – and during the festive season, these journeys become even more important as people connect with family and friends to celebrate Christmas.
And because connecting people is so important, ScotRail has unveiled its new official charity partner, Age Scotland – the national charity for older people.
The charity works to improve the lives of everyone over the age of 50 and ScotRail has committed to raising awareness and funds to support the work they do over the next two and a half years.
A challenging time for older people
The festive period can be especially difficult for older people; for many older Scots, the winter can be incredibly isolating, reports Age Scotland.
A survey of over 65s carried out by the charity last Christmas found that over 90,000 expected to eat dinner alone on Christmas Day, with 128,000 older people saying that Christmas is the hardest day of the year.
In light of this, Age Scotland and ScotRail are working together to encourage everyone to play their part in supporting older friends, relatives, and neighbours this festive season.
Vital work
Age Scotland provides a free helpline, offering support, friendship and advice – and has received almost 30,000 calls from older people in the past year.
The charity also supports over 500 local older people’s groups across Scotland, creating local connections and combatting loneliness.
To celebrate the partnership, ScotRail has branded one of its trains with the Age Scotland logo, providing a unique way of raising awareness of Age Scotland’s vital work to tackle loneliness affecting older people across Scotland.
Charity posters on trains and at stations also promote the partnership to millions of passengers.
The support of Scotland’s Railway
Since Age Scotland was named as the official charity partner of Scotland’s Railway – that’s both ScotRail and Network Rail Scotland – in April, ScotRail staff have already been engaged in fundraising activities such as abseiling from the Forth Bridge and zip-lining across the Clyde, with lots more to come.
Tracy Stevenson, community rail executive at ScotRail, said: “Age Scotland was voted by colleagues as our official charity partner until 2027.
“At ScotRail, we take a lot of pride in having a charity partner and getting involved in initiatives to support them. By tackling loneliness, we see how Age Scotland can improve the lives of many older people.”
Marion Pirrie, fundraising manager at Age Scotland, said: “At a time when many of us are busy celebrating, our helpline sees a significant increase in calls from older people feeling lonely and isolated.
“We are so grateful to ScotRail for helping us raise awareness and vital funds, enabling us to support even more vulnerable older people over the festive period.”
So, by simply choosing to travel with ScotRail this Christmas and in future, passengers are helping Age Scotland tackle loneliness among older people.