Dementia Active in Banbury celebrated the opening of its first charity shop in Parsons Street earlier this month. Performing the opening ceremony was Lady Saye and Sele, whose husband Lord Saye and Sele used the service prior to his death in January. The shop is proving to be a huge success but needs donations of saleable goods – clothes, bric a brac, books, bags etc - to keep funds rolling in.
Advertisement Advertisement Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to Banbury Guardian, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you. The organisation has been inundated with requests for places for local residents with dementia and is desperate for funds to help provide these places and to support carers. One carer described the sessions provided as ‘five star help’ and said: “I can not recommend this group highly enough.
My husband feels safe and part of the family. The group leaders and volunteers all make the day interesting and stimulating and I have the break I need.” CEO Andrew Gill said: “It is with regret that Gail, our fundraiser, has moved on to pastures new but we thank her for all she has achieved for the charity.
“Fundraising and grants have been key in enabling us to complete our building, which is now fit for the purpose of delivering a whole range of activities for people with dementia. “The problems we are now facing are the sheer numbers of local people with dementia that need our four-hour session places which cost money.“We have high transport costs, high wage costs and high lease costs, which is why the ongoing financial help we receive from local businesses is key to our ability to support more and more local people with dementia.
” Advertisement Advertisement Dementia Active has put out a call to local businesses to sponsor the group with regular financial support. “As a potential corporate sponsor, you could make a huge difference to the life of a local person with dementia and their immediate family. “Dementia is an illness which can isolate people from former friends.
The value of spending time with others who can share this sense of isolation cannot be overestimated. We aim to create a sense of community where no one need feel apologetic or uncomfortable about not being able to do those things which in the past would have been straightforward,” it says. • £30 per month would pay for 120 hot meals for Dementia Active members over the course of a year Advertisement Advertisement • £90 per month would pay for 120 journeys to and from Dementia Active over the course of a year • £200 per month would fully fund a member attending once a week, giving respite to family or a partner for up to 25 hours a month, who could not normally afford it.
All corporate donations are tax deductible. To offer items for sale in the shop, to see how you can volunteer or to find out more about sponsoring this valuable service please email [email protected] or call 01295 408441..
