Following our 2016 round of fundraising we had a total of £12,845 to distribute. This includes funds raised by Remembering Not to Forget trustees and supporters, as well as Gift Aid income.
If you have any questions about how funds are being distributed, or would like to do some fundraising for us, please get in touch.
Share of funds raised in 2016
Alzheimer’s Research UK
Charity Reg: 1077089
£2,000
Alzheimer’s Research UK aims to defeat dementia. Their scientists have been behind some of the biggest breakthroughs in dementia research, and their pioneering work is bringing us closer to a future without dementia. They have also brought dementia research into the spotlight, campaigning for more funding and helping to put the condition at the top of the UK’s health agenda, as well as attracting attention worldwide.
Our donation contributed to a research project at the University of Southampton investigating the abnormal build-up of amyloid beta and tau protein in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease, and how this damages brain connections. The project is ongoing, but in the long term it will help us understand how the disease starts in human brain cells so that therapies can be developed to prevent or stop memory loss in Alzheimer’s.
If you would like to read more about this project you can contact Alzheimer’s Research UK and ask for more information about project reference ARUK-PPG2016A-8.
Alzheimers Society
Charity Reg: 296645
£1,000
The Alzheimer’s Society is a national organisation providing information and local support services, research, training, campaigning and awareness raising. They believe passionately that life doesn’t end when dementia begins and are there for anyone affected by dementia, including family, carers and friends. We supported the Alzheimer’s Society with 2014 and 2015 funds, but with this donation we decided to focus on their campaigning work.
We supported the Alzheimer’s Society with 2014 and 2015 funds, but with this donation we decided to focus on their campaigning work. The Alzheimer’s Society campaigning work strives to change communities, change policy, and change individuals’ mindsets. Working with elected representatives, key decision makers and supporters the team aims to achieve the highest-level of public and political awareness and understanding of dementia in order to create meaningful and lasting improvements for everyone affected by this cruel condition. You can read about the successes of their campaigning work here.
We were inspired to support this area of work by their Fix Dementia Care campaign, investigating and finding policy solutions for the poor quality of dementia care in hospitals, care homes and care at home. We were invited by the Alzheimer’s Society to contribute a blog to their website explaining more about why we chose to support this area of work, which you can read here.
Reading Agency Charity
Charity Reg: 1085443
£1,075
The Reading Agency aims to inspire more people to read more, encourage them to share their enjoyment of reading and celebrate the difference that reading makes to all our lives. Reading Well Books on Prescription for dementia provides helpful reading in public libraries for people with dementia and their carers. A list of 25 high-quality titles was selected by health professionals and people with dementia and their carers. The books provide information and advice, support for carers, support for living well with the dementia, and personal stories and fiction. They have been endorsed by a wide range of health organisations including Alzheimer’s Society, Dementia UK and Carers UK. The project is delivered by The Reading Agency and Society of Chief Librarians.
Our funding was used to support a mailing of 10,000 Reading Well Books on Prescription for dementia user leaflets to 100 dementia healthcare professionals and organisations at identified dementia hubs in Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, North Somerset, Plymouth, Poole, South Gloucestershire and Torbay. Staff receiving the leaflets said they were grateful to have the resource of the booklist and appreciated being able to signpost people to additional free support in the local community following a dementia diagnosis. As well as promoting the scheme directly to health professionals, the scheme helped the Reading Agency to make new contacts with dementia experts in the South West and expand their dementia knowledge base, which will be invaluable when they refresh the dementia book list in the future.
Young Dementia UK
Charity Reg: 1085595
£1,500
YoungDementia UK provides direct support to individuals with young onset dementia (35-65 yrs) and to their family members. This direct support enables people with dementia to live as well as possible and helps to keep family units together for as long as they can. They also increasingly campaign at a national level to improve services for people with dementia. We supported Young Dementia UK with 2015 funds, and were keen to support the development of the recently formed Young Dementia Network; the community of people living with young onset dementia, families affected by young onset dementia and professionals supporting them.
£1,132 of our donation was used to cover the costs of a stand and speaking slot at the Alzheimer’s Show in London in June 2017 to raise the profile of YoungDementia UK as well as of the Young Dementia Network. The event was attended by 1,670 visitors over two days. 52% of these were professionals working in the field of dementia and 48% were members of the public, many of who will be people with or affected by dementia. 87 new members of the Young Dementia Network were signed up at the event, and countless other important connections were made.
The balance of the grant (£368) was used to support the costs of producing Young Dementia Network material for families and clinicians in specialist diagnostic clinics across the country. There are around 200 of these clinics, where people are generally first diagnosed with young onset dementia. We know from our own experiences how daunting a diagnosis can be, so we were really pleased to be able to support this work.
Playlist for Life
Charity Reg: SC044072
£1,270
Playlist for Life supports people with dementia, their families and carers to use personally meaningful music to make life easier and happier. Research shows that such music can help to manage mood and emotions, promote well-being, prompt memories and abilities thought lost, and reconnect and strengthen relationships. Using music that is personal to the individual, the intervention can be scheduled and tailored to be used as when they need it. Its person-centred approach enables a strong connection between the person and the caregiver.
We supported Playlist for Life’s volunteer scheme with 2014 funds, and have witnessed ourselves the power of music to reach someone living with dementia. This time our funds were used to deliver certified training at Yeovil District Hospital’s Older Adult Ward for fourteen people (health and care staff as well as volunteers from the local community). Attendees reported that the training was engaging, informative, and reinforced their understanding and confidence in using Playlist for Life methodology to promote the wellbeing of people living with dementia, and to support the families of people living with dementia. Playlist for Life plan to build on the success of this project to extend the use of personal playlists amongst the people of Yeovil and the South West. The challenges and benefits identified during the work at Yeovil District Hospital will also feed into the development of Playlist for Life’s growth strategy for the next three years.
Thrive
Charity Reg: 277570
£1,500
Thrive use gardening to bring about positive changes in the lives of people whose lives have been touched by disability, providing programmes of social and therapeutic horticulture directly and offering training and consultancy to other health, social care and educational organisations. In 2008, Thrive carried out a study into the benefits of horticultural therapy for people with young onset dementia, and they also run training and projects to promote gardening activities for people living with dementia, their families and carers.
Our funding was used to deliver a 2-day specialist training course in using gardens and gardening to support people with dementia. A total of 16 people attended the course; 15 were either activity coordinators or gardeners within a care home setting in either Devon, Somerset, Dorset, or Cornwall. One person came from a community interest company in Devon that ran gardening clubs in care home settings. As well as conveying new knowledge and skills to the participants, the training provided a framework to enable people with dementia to have greater advocacy and choice in relation to the outdoors and nature-based activities. In addition, we hope that it will impact the culture of care within each of the participants’ settings with outdoor space being better utilised and made increasingly ‘dementia-friendly’ over time.
BRACE
Charity Reg: 297965
£3,500
BRACE supports dementia research at universities in South West England and South Wales, aiming to help medical science understand the causes of dementia, find ways of diagnosing it earlier and more accurately, and develop more effective treatments. Ultimately, they want to help science beat dementia.
Our donation has gone to support the South West Dementia Brain Bank based at Southmead Hospital. They urgently needed funds for equipment for their laboratories, essential items which are often difficult to fundraise for. Our donation contributed towards the replacement of highly specialised freezers used to store brain tissue at temperatures below -80oC, a vital tool for the research and a long-term investment in the work of the Brain Bank. Read about Ali’s visit to the Brain Bank to see how the funds have been used.
Reminiscence Learning
Charity Reg: 1105488
£1,000
Reminiscence Learning is a Somerset based charity providing training for dementia care to individuals and professionals and leading the Archie Project – an intergenerational dementia awareness project that links local primary schools, care homes, businesses/services and community members to ultimately reduce the fear and stigma of dementia. It is based around the character of Archie the Scarecrow who is living with dementia.
£500 of our donation supported work with children in year 4 at Wiveliscombe (Helen and Ali’s home town) primary school, providing dementia awareness for both the teachers and children, books and workbooks for the children and facilitating a number of events and ongoing intergenerational activities (e.g. with local care homes).
The other £500 contributed towards fun, multi-sensory community sessions in Wellington for people living with dementia and their carers. Sessions include Music and Memories, Themed Reminiscence and Fitness for Fun.
