After his wife passed away, Philip struggled to get used to living alone. Although his family saw him as much as they could, he became so lonely that he’d often wait at the bus stop outside his house hoping he’d find someone to chat to.

When a family member heard about our call companions service, which matches a volunteer and older person for regular telephone conversations every week or two, they immediately thought it could help Philip.

Philip was matched with Hasan and soon the pair developed a firm friendship, talking on the phone every week. Here’s Hasan’s memories of Philip:

"I was paired with Philip and gave him a call, for the first time, one Tuesday evening in October. I was nervous... a lot more nervous than I expected to be!

“Philip was an absolute diamond from the off and we instantly became good friends. We used to talk about everything - life, family, love, dogs, gardening and current affairs. Very quickly I realised that this friendship was about so much more than providing a little companionship to an isolated older person. I really enjoyed our chats because I was looking for more purpose and meaning in life and helping an older person was helping me achieve that.

“We carried on talking every Tuesday and one night, shortly after I'd had surgery on my knee, I was complaining about not being able to train. Philip told me that this was an opportunity to do something positive. Over the next couple of weeks, I set about planning what this could look like and decided to sign up to a few challenges, culminating in the Iron Man UK challenge.

“I was pretty keen to tell Philip about everything I had planned after his words of wisdom (and perspective) but that Monday night he called me. It was his grandson... he'd called to let me know that Philip had passed away earlier that evening - words I really wasn’t ready to hear.

“Philip gave me the inspiration to do the triathlon and plan the five preliminary events. So this was in memory of my mate, Philip. The only sadness is that he wasn’t here to see me do it."

Hasan went on to complete the triathlon in Philip’s memory, raising over £3,000 in his honour.

If you’d like to take on a challenge or other fundraising activity in memory of a loved one you can find ideas for activities on our fundraise page. If you need any help or support with your fundraising, our team are here for you. Contact us by email fundraising@reengage.org.uk or call 020 7881 2361.