I have decided to donate my £200 Winter Fuel Payment to support other older people in Oxfordshire to keep warm and active.

We know that isolation, loneliness and depression not only cause suffering but they increase the risk of dementia . We have strong scientific evidence that activity, physical and mental, helps people live longer better and reduces their risk of hospital admission and needing social care.

Many thousands of people in Oxfordshire will have received a winter fuel payment. For some of them this will have been of great importance but many of us wonder what we should do with this £200. With this note we are launching the Share Your Warmth Appeal with the aim of getting people to give their winter fuel allowance to Age UK Oxfordshire to make winter better for housebound and inactive people. Age UK Oxfordshire, along with Active Oxfordshire's support, are working every day to enable people to be more active in later life and to bring people together to enjoy life. They need our help to reach more people with more activities and opportunities. Professor Sir Muir Gray

Your £200 could:

- support 20 housebound people to do specialist seated exercises at home with a home exercise pack

- support 40 older people to attend a tailored group exercise class, keeping them active, mobile and socially connected.

- enable 100 housebound older people in Oxfordshire to receive a friendly phone call

Thank you!