There are over 10 million people living with arthritis in the UK. That’s one in six, with over half of those living in pain every single day. The impact is huge, but despite this, arthritis is often dismissed as an inevitable part of aging, or shrugged off as “just a bit of arthritis”. Building on the expertise and legacies of both Arthritis Research UK and Arthritis Care, Versus Arthritis is here to change that.

The charity is constantly campaigning to challenge the misconceptions around arthritis, and to ensure that arthritis is recognised as a priority in the UK.

From challenging and influencing Government to get the big decisions right, to working with people with arthritis to offer vital support, Versus Arthritis is making real, impactful progress.

Alzheimer’s Society are the UK’s leading dementia support, influencing and research charity, here for anyone affected by any form of dementia in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. By 2025, 1 million people will be living with the condition, in turn affecting many millions more carers, partners, families, and friends.

Dementia needs to be a higher priority for decision makers. As such, Alzheimer’s Society influence for improvements in policy and practice, provide information and support to help people live well with dementia, whilst investing in world-class research with the ultimate goal of defeating the disease.

Rethink Mental Illness is a leading charity provider of mental health services in England.

As experts in mental illness, Rethink knows that with the right support and information, people severely affected by mental illness can have a good quality of life. Their aim is to meet each person’s individual needs, and to ensure everyone living with a mental illness is treated with dignity and respect.

They support tens of thousands of people through their groups, services, advice, and information. Rethink also trains employees, employers, and members of the public on how best to support someone affected by mental illness.

All this work guides their campaigning for the rights of people with mental illness, and alongside them their carers.

Breast Cancer Now are here for anyone affected by breast cancer, the whole way through, providing support for today, and hope for the future.

Steered by world-class research and powered by life-changing care, the charity is determined to make sure anyone affected by breast cancer gets the best possible treatment and care.

Actively campaigning for those affected by the disease, Breast Cancer Now have pushed for change for people living with secondary breast cancer, secured support for breast cancer services in the NHS Long Term Plan, and successfully fought for life-extending drugs to be made available.

Royal Voluntary Service is one of Britain’s largest volunteering charities, with volunteers supporting the NHS and thousands of vulnerable people.

Through the power of volunteering, the charity provides one-to-one, group and online services that improve the health and wellbeing, resilience, confidence and connections of people and communities across Great Britain.

The charity also delivers the NHS Volunteer Responders programme for NHS England, enabled by the GoodSAM app, with volunteers to date responding to more than 2.2 million requests for help and supporting with over 300,000 shifts at vaccination sites.

Asthma + Lung UK believe that every breath matters – and that the right to breathe freely applies to everybody, regardless of income, age, ethnicity, gender, or background.

Even before Covid-19, NHS hospital admissions for lung conditions were rising three times faster than average admissions, and lung disease is now the third most common cause of death in the UK. Asthma and Lung UK aim to reduce this by 20% by 2027 with four key goals:

• Prevent lung disease wherever they can
• Diagnose lung disease earlier and more accurately
• Enable everyone to live well with a lung condition
• Drive life-changing research and innovation

The Stroke Association is the UK’s leading stroke charity. Its vision is for there to be fewer strokes, and for people affected by stroke to get the help they need to live the best life they can.

The charity provides specialist support, funds critical research and campaigns to make sure people affected by stroke get the very best care and support to rebuild their lives.

Stroke strikes every 5 minutes in the UK. It is a leading cause of death and disability, and costs the UK economy £26 billion annually. Yet there is enormous potential to prevent strokes from happening, and support those who experience stroke to recover.

The Stroke Association aims to be the trusted voice of stroke survivors and their families. The charity wants to drive better outcomes in stroke prevention, treatment, and lifelong support for everyone affected by stroke.

Too many older people feel they have no one to turn to for support. Age UK exists to offer help when people need it the most. The organisation speaks out on vital issues for elderly people – because everyone deserves dignity, care, and respect as we age, and we should all be listened to.

The charity seeks to influence decision makers by conducting social and economic analysis, developing public policy proposals, and shaping policy agendas in a wide range of areas.

Age UK also supports work in local communities that can be a lifeline, like dance classes, being guided through a benefit application, or a handy person helping to make a home safer and warmer.

The British Red Cross is a volunteer-led humanitarian organisation that helps people in crisis, whoever and wherever they are, in the UK and around the world.

They have operated in the space between hospital and home since the NHS was established and the National Assistance Act enacted, with every action underpinned by a vision that everyone should get the support they need to live independently at home.

Vowing to do so for as long as the humanitarian need persists, The British Red Cross also advocates for policy and practice changes that close the gap and eradicate need. This work takes the form of evidence-based reports, alongside regular calls for changes to legislation and policy that affect those in desperate need of help.

Diabetes UK has a strong and clear vision: a world where diabetes can do no harm.

The charity is working to help people live well and longer with diabetes, and to cure and prevent diabetes. This is achieved through their campaigning and influencing, funding of ground-breaking research, and working with local health systems and healthcare professionals to catalyse change and improvement.

At the same time, Diabetes UK offers support and advice for everyone affected by diabetes through their helpline, local support groups, Type 1 events, online Learning Zone, and awareness raising programmes.

British Heart Foundation fights for a world free from the fear of heart and circulatory diseases.

Heart attacks that strike without warning, strokes that shatter futures, newborn babies born with broken hearts. These are just some of the cruelties of cardiovascular disease, and the brutal reality is, there is so much more for science to discover before we can beat one of the world’s biggest killers.

British Heart Foundation funds £100m of research in the quest for cures and treatments, so they can give people more time with the ones they love.

The charity also campaigns to create healthier environments, strengthen health and care systems, and to ensure lifesaving research can continue to thrive.

Macmillan is here to do whatever it takes to help everyone with cancer live life as fully as they can.

The number of people being diagnosed is rising and more people are surviving cancer than ever before. With this comes a challenge for cancer care to adapt and evolve to meet the rapidly changing needs of people living with the disease.

Macmillan works with partners to provide services for people living with cancer at every stage of their experience. Their services include expert cancer advice, award-winning information provision, the training of health and social care professionals, spaces for people to find peer support, volunteer services, grants, and welfare benefits advice