A WEST Cumbrian charity has appointed a new chief executive.

Jane Mindar has taken on the position at Age UK West Cumbria. She joined the charity in September 2019 and comes to the role from her position as deputy chief executive. She was previously head of funded services.

A charity spokesman said: “Jane has enjoyed a long and successful career specialising in social care, healthcare, and housing.

“Her experience has been put to good use in recent months, enabling her to lead the organisation through the challenges caused by Covid-19.

“The national pandemic, which has affected every corner of society, has been particularly devastating for older residents in rural areas.

“A lack of access to support and services has led to increased isolation for thousands of people within local communities, a problem that Jane is keen to address.”

Mrs Mindar said: “I’m delighted to have been appointed and am committed to creating a new Age UK West Cumbria which will aim to tackle social inequalities via excellent quality services and cross-sector partnership working.

“Keeping communities connected is vital to survival and I want every older person in our area to feel valued, supported and respected.

“We are lucky to have an amazing staff team and a great group of volunteers and we aim to recruit more people to a wider variety of roles.

“We want to build on current skills, develop our digital capabilities and transform our retail sector – creating vibrant community hubs for people to come together and share experiences.”

Age UK West Cumbria has five local centres in Whitehaven, Egremont, Millom, Workington and Cockermouth, and offices in Wigton and Keswick.

The charity has recently launched a new project to support veterans during the pandemic.

The money for the Veterans Connected project has been awarded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund following the success of the charity’s Joining Forces project which supported older veterans and concluded in April.

Mrs Mindar said: “The new Veterans Connected project looks to support veterans – including anyone who has completed National Service but not served in the forced afterwards – who are feeling isolated or require some additional services during this pandemic.”

The project will run for six months and includes a befriending service and shopping service whereby people can have food delivered or be accompanied to the shops.

A free transport service will also be available for those needing taken to appointments. “We also have the option of providing bespoke solutions where required to accommodate a specific issue that a veteran has, but the ability to provide this will depend upon demand, staffing, cost etc,” said Mrs Mindar.

“We know that many people are still feeling anxious and may feel alone and we will connect people and support them through this pandemic – Age UK West Cumbria are here to help and support.”

For more details of the project, telephone 01900 844670.