Dementia Support Line
Seeing success
An inspirational group of fundraisers in Down and Lisburn are serious about getting results. They tell Dementia together magazine how they are enjoying every minute.
Raising vital funds in Northern Ireland
Una Caughey doesn’t hold back when asked about her group’s fundraising.
‘I love it, I love to be busy,’ she says. ‘And we can really see the success of what we do.’
Down and Lisburn Volunteer Fundraising Group has been raising money for the Society for 12 years – over £60,000 in 2016 alone.
Una, now 55, got involved after her mother died in 2012 with Lewy body dementia.
Our services were a lifeline for her family, so they set up an Alzheimer’s Society pub quiz that became an annual event. Since joining the group, she’s raised money in countless other ways.
‘We hold dances, vintage runs, bag packing, golf days, barbecues – you name it, we do it,’ says Una.
‘I am very proud of being a part of one of the biggest volunteer fundraising groups in the UK,’ says Rodney.
Rodney Shortell, 61, joined after volunteering at Belfast’s Memory Walk in 2011. He organises street collections and uses his marketing nous to promote their work.
‘I am very proud of being a part of one of the biggest volunteer fundraising groups in the UK,’ says Rodney.
One particular highlight has been a 21-gun salute gala event at Hillsborough Castle, County Down, in 2015.
As Anne Carroll, another active volunteer, recalls, ‘It was a chance to say thank you to everyone who had supported us.’
The group’s 10 members all have personal experience of dementia – Anne’s husband and Rodney’s mother both had the condition – and this common bond only adds to what they get from their achievements.
As Rodney says, ‘It can be hard work, but very rewarding and fun to do.’
Next steps
- Get involved – find information about our events, fundraising ideas and support.