Lighting up lives, one phone call at a time

Through our partnership with Age UK, we’re helping to alleviate loneliness through their Telephone Friendship Service, which is an award-winning programme that matches volunteers with an older, isolated person.  

By thoughtfully matching an older person with colleague volunteers who share similar interests, each call soon becomes more than just a chat – with meaningful connections built on common ground, turning conversations into real friendships.

Over the years, many colleagues old and new have volunteered their time to the Service, providing lasting friendship, valued companionship and a listening ear. All our volunteers receive training and support on what to expect alongside important safeguarding information to help equip them for their telephone friend journey. We currently have over 20 Centrica colleagues actively volunteering on the service who each spend around 20-30 minutes catching up with their friend on the phone every week. Since 2022, our volunteers have spent more than 1,000 hours talking to their telephone friends – that’s the equivalent of 42 days! 

Juliet Brookes, Executive Assistant to Centrica’s Chief Customer Officer and volunteer said “For almost three years, I’ve been volunteering with Age UK’s Telephone Friendship Service, and I speak with my telephone friend every week. When we first started chatting, my telephone friend would often tell me she’d sit inside most of the day, not feeling up to doing much. Over time, I’ve come to see just how much of a difference a weekly phone call can make. We talk about everything from gardening to family memories and at the end of our chats, she always tells me she feels so much better. 

Volunteering with Age UK has been incredibly rewarding. It only takes half an hour each week and I genuinely enjoy every minute of our conversations - a simple call really can change someone’s day and sometimes even their week."

Lisa Ruding, Quality Assurance Auditor at British Gas and volunteer said “I became a volunteer back in 2017 and have had a friendship with my telephone friend, Maureen ever since. Maureen is now age 90 and still looks forward to our weekly chats, where we speak for around 30 minutes and talk about everything under the sun. 

I wanted to make a difference to someone's life, and I feel connected with Maureen and believe that I improve her week. I never expected to still be speaking to the same person years on, but I will continue whilst I make a difference to her life.”

Alongside the Telephone Friendship Service, we’ve been helping Age UK alleviate loneliness for older people in other ways too. Throughout 2023 and 2024 for example, our colleague volunteers helped run local Age UK events including Age UK Lewisham & Southwark’s Christmas party as well as Age UK Kensington & Chelsea’s Notting Hill event which is inspired by Notting Hill Carnival and provides a fun experience for older residents who may have difficulty attending the larger event due to health or mobility. Our volunteers were on hand to ensure the seamless running of the events and get stuck in serving food alongside other duties.