Cyclists raise over £2,000 for dementia

Gina Awad, Project Lead of the Exeter Dementia Action Alliance, and 40 staff including seven GPs from St Thomas Health Centre, spent their Saturday morning cycling from Exeter to Exmouth and back again all in aid of raising funds for dementia.

They were inspired following a Dementia Friends information session delivered by Gina, who also volunteers as a Dementia Friends Champion in Exeter, and arranged this event to support her fundraising. Together they have raised approximately £2,300.

Gina’s hour long interactive talk triggered Health Centre staff to join in with her fundraising for Alzheimer’s Research UK, which will see her trek the Great Wall of China this month. She is passionate about raising dementia awareness in the city and is aspiring to reduce the stigma and social isolation that so often accompanies the condition. To date she has delivered over 30 Dementia Friends sessions both publicly and privately across the city totaling over 500 Dementia Friends.

Gina said: "Dementia is on the increase and yet it is still such a misunderstood condition. We want to change those perceptions and support people and their carers to live better with dementia”.

She goes on to say “Dementia friendly communities require a community response and this inspired me to create the Exeter Dementia Action Alliance. With a Steering Group of 16 like-minded individuals from a cross sector of services across the city we are determined to make a difference."

Marion Long and Jennie Rhodes both from St Thomas Health Centre said: "Being a Dementia Friend is something we have taken seriously and the session Gina delivered really made us think about it, and consider how we could help.

"With our joint fundraising we are thrilled that we have raised so much, and what has been great is the collaboration and team spirit. It's been good fun and we are looking forward to supporting the Exeter Dementia Action Alliance later in the year with more fundraising to support their community work."

Gill Heppell, Practice Manager of St Thomas Health Centre is part of the Steering Group of the newly formed Exeter Dementia Action Alliance. She explained: "Gina is an inspiration in our community and we are only too happy to help her. She will also be running a further Dementia Friends session at the end of June for our Patient participation group."

Statistics from the Alzheimer's Society state there are 670,000 carers of people with dementia in the UK. By 2025 there will be one million people living with dementia in the UK. Two thirds of those people live in the community.

Gina concludes by explaining: "The Exeter Dementia Action Alliance are in the process of obtaining membership and support from organisations and businesses across the city which will see a community response to dementia in so many ways. We have events lined up to spread the message and are looking forward to an autumn launch at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum."

To join the Exeter Dementia Action Alliance or find out more, email Gina Awad at ginasfreespirit@yahoo.co.uk