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Our history

We have been empowering people in later years since 1950.

1950

We were originally named ‘Old People’s Welfare Committee’ and relied on government funding which was readily available to improve people’s welfare after the war.

1963

Steptoe and son’s Wilfred Brambell opened our first community hub called the Brambell Room in Colchester. It was a walk-in centre for older people who were becoming more independent. It was a place for people to engage with others of similar age.

1976

With the elderly population growing, the need was growing too. We needed more space and staff to continue improving the quality of life of Colchester’s older community. So, we changed our name to Age Concern and moved to Stockwell Street, Colchester, a beautiful Grade ll Tudor building with a terrace and garden.

2004

We helped people to identify and claim over £1 million in benefits and entitlements. We also started to provide advocacy for those who moved to the UK from other countries.

2005

The need for our services within the community continued to grow and we also started engaging with other agencies and partners. This allowed us to start signposting and gave people the opportunity to access free legal advice at our surgeries.

We introduced groups and activities outside of Colchester in Tiptree, Wivenhoe and Fordham and we started our friendship clubs. We also changed our name to Age UK Colchester.

2015

We changed our name back to Age Concern Colchester and introduced our Services Directory to provide reliable advice and a list of trusted and checked tradespeople.

2017

We introduced our volunteer friendship services (Befriending) to tackle unseen loneliness in our community. We also started to provide specialist support for those living with dementia.

2024

Today we are called Age Well East and we have expanded our reach and our vision. We continue to support people in later years through our advice and information service, communities and friendship service, dementia service and emotional support service and we now support those who are over 18 experiencing loneliness or bereavement across wider parts of Essex.

Make a donation

Help us by donating today. All donations go directly to making a difference supporting individuals in poverty, loneliness, grief, loss, living with dementia, needing friendship and improving mental wellbeing.

What we do

We make a real difference to over 3,000 people’s lives every year by being there when they need us.

Our vision

We aim to support and empower people to age well with our great team of staff and volunteers.

We can make a real difference to you or someone you know.

We are here for people in later years. We empower you to age well.