2020-27 Strategy
When The Cares Family closed at the end of 2023, it was working through an ambitious strategy that remains a blueprint for other organisations today. The strategy was grounded in a conviction that, when people come together across generations, backgrounds and experiences, they create ripples of connection which build to powerful currents of community, solidarity and belonging. This page sets out that strategy as an archive example of what can be accomplished.
Crisis
Our society is experiencing a crisis of social disconnection. This can be seen in rising:
- Isolation and loneliness – We are more separate from our communities and one another.
- Dislocation – We feel less of a sense of belonging in the changing places and communities around us.
- Division – We are less united in shared experience and empathy with others from different walks of life.
Vision
The Cares Family’s vision was of socially connected communities in which people feel less lonely, more united and that they belong.
Mission
The Cares Family brings people together across generations, backgrounds and experiences to build community and connection.
2020 — 2026
This strategy reflected both The Cares Family's belief in the transformative power of human relationships and an awareness that systems-level challenges require systems-level responses. That's why, from 2020 through to 2023, we worked to fulfil our mission in different ways in different communities – going deeper in our five local places while also spurring a national ripple of connection. Our goal was to cover a map of the UK with hearts representing local action to build belonging:
We operated a local charity in this area
We seeded community action through The Multiplier
We supported a community organisation to apply our model through Ripple Effect
Objectives
From 2020 to 2023, The Cares Family's goals were to:
- Go deeper locally by:
- Bringing more older and younger people together in our five local places and sustaining meaningful relationships between them;
- Supporting older and younger neighbours to feel visible, confident and that they have a stake in their communities through the power of those relationships.
- Spur a national ripple of connection by:
- Sharing our learning with others;
- Influencing systems, policy and decision-making;
- Shifting narratives, attitudes and behaviours.
To underpin this, our plan was to:
- Consolidate our operations and ensure the sustainability of our organisation and philosophy.
Legacy
Unfortunately, The Cares Family board decided to close the organisation in November 2023 due to fundraising challenges. But our legacy remains:
- In the 50 communities we trained to build community and connection through The Multiplier and Ripple Effect
- Through the impact of our advocacy that helped, amongst other things, shape the world's first ever government-level loneliness strategy
- In the hundreds of intergenerational relationships that are ongoing despite the closure of The Cares Family.
The Cares Family will continue to share stories of that impact, thought leadership, and ideas for policy changes, through this website and our local charities' social media channels.