Sky high for dementia charity
Some of our colleagues took to the skies last month in order to raise vital funds for the specialist dementia nursing charity.
Our thrill seekers took to the skies for the charity Dementia UK at the end of the August at airfields in Brackley in Northamptonshire and Nottingham.
The eight colleagues who took part raised a staggering £7,456 for the charity.
Dementia UK is our corporate charity of the year for 2024.
Clare Durnin, our Executive Director of Corporate Resources – and a member of the Fundraising Committee – said : “This was a fantastic effort from our intrepid team of dare devils and one that, as a Group, we are immensely proud of. As a social housing provider, we are always looking for opportunities to give back to our communities and this was a perfect example. Thanks for all those who helped, supported and took part and for all those who donated so generously.”
Joanna Sullivan, Head of Community Fundraising, Events and Innovation at Dementia UK said: “We are so grateful to Platform Housing Group for taking on this incredible challenge for Dementia UK. One in two of us will be affected by dementia in our lifetime, either by caring for someone with the condition, developing it ourselves, or both. It can be exhausting and overwhelming, not only for the person with dementia, but also for the people caring for them, and their wider family and friends.
“Thanks to the hard work of our amazing fundraisers like Platform Housing Group, more families than ever will be able to access the life changing support by our Admiral Nurses.”
The colleagues who took part in the sky dive were Sonal Solanki, Tracy Ault, Lyudmila Trofimchuk, Paulina Medek-Green, Lara Hall, Sandra Williams and Rob Bowler.
Lyudmila Trofimchuk, a Customer Experience Team Leader said: “My mother was diagnosed with vascular dementia in April 2024. This came as a complete shock to me as my mother has always been strong, independent and self sufficient. It is heart wrenching to see a little bit of her disappearing every day. Fundraising gave me something else to focus on while coming to terms with our new way of living.”
Sonal Solanki, Rent Officer said: “The charity is very close to my heart, with my Dad being diagnosed with vascular dementia late last year; as a family we never in a million years thought my Dad would go through such a devastating illness. I am still searching for the resilient man I always knew, my rock in times of need, but I know I will probably never find him again.”
Dementia UK is the specialist dementia nursing charity who are there to support the whole family when a loved one is diagnosed with dementia. The specialist nursing team provide life changing advice and support to anyone affected by dementia, whenever it is needed. The statistics make for sobering reading; every 3 minutes someone in the UK develops dementia. Today there are around 944.000 people living with dementia, including 70,800 living with young onset dementia, where symptoms develop under the age of 65. Dementia UK has around 400 specialist nurses supporting families across the UK; the support is provided for free.
We have a volunteer fundraising committee which is made up of colleagues who support the fundraising efforts each year. Each year we fund raise for a different charity as nominated by colleagues.
Find out more about Dementia UK on their website.
Photo caption : Colleagues from Platform Housing Group took to the skies for Dementia UK