about-us

About us

Supporting older people for over a century

Who we are

Friends of the Elderly is a charity that runs care homes, day care services and a grant giving programme for older people living on low incomes throughout England.

The charity, which does not have shareholders, is a not-for-profit organisation. Unlike some care providers, we do not make a profit as any surplus funds are reinvested back into the charity. This enables us to continue to provide excellent levels of care throughout all our care homes and day care services.

All money reinvested continues to drive the delivery of high-quality care for our residents and day care clients, including maintaining and improving our buildings and providing ongoing support for our staff through training, mentoring, education programmes and competitive salaries.

What we do

We run care homes and day care services for older people including those living with dementia and memory impairment. We have our care homes in Bedfordshire, Dorset, Essex, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey and Worcestershire.

Through our charitable work, we provide grants for older people living on a low income and undertake projects that support older people to live fulfilled lives.

We are delighted that Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra is our President, and that Her Majesty The Queen was one of our patrons. Support from the Royal Family has helped us raise awareness of the challenges many older people face. Please see more from our president here.

Our care services    Our charity work   Our vision, mission and values

Our history

We have been helping older people remain independent with dignity and respect for over 100 years.

Read more about our history

Our Patron and President

Her Majesty The Queen was our Patron while Princess Alexandra is our President.

Letter from HRH Princess Alexandra

Our people

Our Senior Leadership Team is passionate about our work and dedicated to providing quality services.

Senior Leadership Team

Our trustees are responsible for the management and conduct of the charity.
Trustees and Patrons

Chief Executive’s Blog

Steve Allen, Chief Executive of Friends of the Elderly, writes a regular blog which gives insight into his role at the Charity. He offers information and advice about important areas affecting older people and their families.

Chief Executive’s blog

Work for us

From health care, to fundraising, to operations, it takes a range of skills to work towards our vision. We work in nine regions across England and offer some great benefits.

Why work for us?

Keeping everyone safe

As one of the charity’s core values, keeping people safe is central to everything we do at Friends of the Elderly.

Read more about Safeguarding
Contact details for Relatives

Compliments and Complaints

We are always keen to receive feedback from anyone we deal with, whether that feedback is positive, negative, or a suggestion about how we might do things better.

We want to hear from you

Our Pension and Life Assurance Scheme (1978)

This is a pension scheme that some Friends of the Elderly employees joined prior to 1996.

See relevant documents         Contact for membership related queries

How you can help?

Whether you are looking for a rewarding career in care or want to take on a fundraising challenge, there is something everyone can do to support older people.

Download a map of where our services are located.