This week we set out on a challenge from Wednesday 26th February 12pm to Thursday 27th February 12pm, Team members from HQ took part in our own take in a 24-hour memory walk fundraising event. With 26 volunteers from our Head Office, dedicating some of their time of the day to walk their bit for Dementia UK.
We began Wednesday afternoon in a local gym in Mansfield, Your Space, where we were given our own small space to set up some resources around the treadmill area. We utilised this space to inform those in the gym what exactly our fundraising event entailed and an opportunity for those within the gym to donate to the cause.
Thank You to YourSpace Mansfield!
We would like to express our gratitude for Your Space for allowing us to use their facilities, as without them none of this would be possible as well as being delighted that they were so open to support the event and the cause.
“Your Space Mansfield are happy to be able to support Premier Community’s charity event. We appreciate being able to give back to a company who do a lot in our community”. – Phil, Facilities Manager, Your Space Mansfield.
Why Dementia matters to us…
Every year we support Dementia UK by promoting a steps challenge, to encourage those across the community to get out and about all over dementia. This year we knew we wanted to plan an event during the month of February alongside our stepping challenge, after brainstorming we landed on a memory walk. Once we settled on the challenge, we needed to acquire a team of volunteers of Premier Community staff, including Managers, Care Coordinators, and members of the finance and admin team.
“As a community, we’re always eager to come together and make a difference. Dementia UK is a charity we’ve supported for the past 3 years, and this year, we’re once again standing behind their incredible work,” explains Tim Isterling, Communications Manager.
“We witness the effects of dementia in the care we provide every day. But it’s not just a professional concern – many of us have personal stories of how dementia has affected our own families, robbing us of the people we love. It’s these personal connections that drive us to take on this challenge for them and all our amazing service users,” adds Tim.
What our participants had to say:
When those had finished their treadmill session, we took the time after to offer those a snack, a photo and we even interviewed a few! Below we have shared what some of our participants had to say about their experience.
We first spoke with those that kick started the challenge off, team Amber Valley! Sabrina stated that “We are doing this for all our service users currently living with dementia and for those who have lost loved ones with dementia.”
Laura added that she found the challenge “really good, we went 5.23 km in an hour, so I think we’ve made a good start to the day. High five team Amber Valley!”
We of course had participants that took part to honour loved ones who are or have suffered from the disease. Emily stated that she took part because “Every 3 minutes someone is diagnosed with dementia, it’s a cause very close to me as my Grandma had dementia. It’s such a great cause to be a part of, to try and help families of people affected with this disease.”
One of our participants Ben Isterling was fully committed to the role and he decided to do his 2 hours in a fancy dress costume! We caught up with Ben after partaking in his 2 hours, when asking him how he got on he replied, “It’s hard work when you wear an alien suit, it’s a bit like doing it in a bin bag for 2 hours.”
We were also intrigued to find out how many people in the gym spiked their interest to what we were up to, we asked him if many people approached him when on the treadmill. Ben replied “Absolutely! We also got a few donations for a great charity.” Ben concluded his interview by stating that “I’m pleased to have done it and I would do it again as well!”
How much we raised…
On reflection of the event, we are pleased to share that it was overall a huge success and proud to share that at the end of the challenge we raised a total of £1,282.50 + £258.50 in gift aid, in aid of DementiaUK. Raising money and awareness for a cause that affects many of those within our community, was important for us to do and we are thrilled with the result. Our 24-hour challenge might be finished but isn’t too late to donate.
Every 3 minutes someone finds out they have dementia, if we could encourage you to do anything today, we would urge you to donate to causes such as Dementia UK. This charity helps support all families affected by Dementia primarily through their specialists’ nurses. Here is a link to our JustGiving page to donate. https://www.justgiving.com/page/premier-community-step-challenge
Author: Georgia Ferguson
