Somerset Gryphons Hockey Club have set up a JustGiving page to raise funds to help people who have dementia.

The club have always been passionate about raising money for charity, especially in the local area.

Last year they did a quiz night to raise money for St Margaret’s Hospice and also did a foodbank advent calendar where they donated one item to Clevedon foodbank for each day of advent.

Around 850,000 people in the UK are reliant on the crucial support services provided by the Alzheimer’s Society, with Covid-19 having also had an unimaginable impact.

Despite working tirelessly to support as many people as possible, the Society’s fundraising income is at risk and they are already estimating the loss of donations to be in the millions.

A group of approximately 25 from Somerset Gryphons are therefore putting on their running shoes during the latest lockdown and aiming to run 1,000 miles in total until December 2.

The club would be grateful for any donation, be it 50p or £5, and have given some examples of what all fundraising will support.
These include:

*£9.90 will begin someone’s Dementia Connect journey by providing the first conversation with a telephone based Dementia Adviser.

*Telephone-based dementia advisers give essential support across the three nations, and £95 can support them for a full day.

*Just £3.83 turns an ordinary citizen into a Dementia Friend, who helps bring societal change, waking people up to the truth about dementia and helping them understand the impact that this has on people’s lives.

The club will continue to post updates on their JustGiving page and ask those interested to come back and track their progress.

"As a cause close to my heart, I wanted to undertake the November fundraiser for the Alzheimer's Society and thought I'd rope in my fellow club mates for moral support and as a good way to keep match fit during lockdown," said Helen Brewer.

"We've pledged to run 1000 miles in total over the next four weeks and we hope to raise £1000 to go towards helping and supporting people with Alzheimer's. We have raised over £700.00 so far and are well on target to smash our 1000 miles!

"It's also been a great way to keep in touch during lockdown with daily updates of each other's runs and how many miles we have done so far.

"We have even put together our own running playlist to keep us motivated while we run! It's definitely nice to feel that we are something positive as well as keeping fit during these uncertain times."