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‘The 4Get Me Nots’ to take part in Marathon relay for Approach

On Sunday 15th July 2018, 4 members of Approach Staff – ‘The 4Get Me Nots’ are tackling the Stoke-on-Trent Festival of Running Marathon Relay.

Caroline, Nicola, Lisa and Hannah are each running 6.5 miles across the city between Port Vale Football Club and the Bet365 Stadium.

The team are taking on this challenge in order to raise valuable funds to support activities in our Day Opportunities groups and to ensure the continuation of our Carers Cafes.

Within our Day Opportunities groups, members partake in fun and meaningful activities such as music, dance and reminiscence sessions to help keep them active and stimulated. The groups also take trips out to places of interest to avoid isolation, encourage socialisation and to integrate individuals back into the community. These groups also serve as a fantastic respite tool for carers of those with dementia, therefore benefiting the whole family. The team would love to be able to purchase new equipment and resources in order for our groups to participate in new activities.

Our Carers Cafes are a lifeline to carers of those with dementia and provide an excellent means for carers in similar situations to get together and chat with each other. Our specially trained staff are on hand at the cafes for those who needs a little bit of extra help in their role. This service allows carers to gain invaluable information regarding their particular circumstances, which really makes a difference to the lives of our carers. After a recent loss in funding, the team are hoping to raise funds to allow us to continue to operate this service.

The team are hoping to raise around £2000 in sponsors from this event in order to make a significant contribution to these two vital Approach provisions.

Dementia Advisor at Approach Nicola Shipstone, said “I often tell people I can’t even run a bath so this will be a big challenge for me! We know how important our services are in our community so we’re all training hard to ensure we can cross the finish line for Approach”

If you are able to sponsor the team, you can do so by donating to their Virgin Money Page.  The team will also be visiting our Carers Cafes in June and July to ask for sponsors so you can also make an offline donation.

The team would love to see lots of people cheering them on from the side-lines on the day. Here is a link to the route the team will be taking during the marathon so please head outside and show your support if the route passes through your local area. The team will be easy to spot with their matching purple vests decorated in forget me nots!

For your reference, here are some time estimates for each leg of the marathon if you would like to head out to support the team at any point.

Hannah- Leg 1- Leaving Vale Park at 8.15am and arriving at Grange Park, Cobridge at 9.20am

Caroline- Leg 2- Leaving Grange Park at 9.20am and arriving at the Bet 365 Stadium at 10.40am

Lisa- Leg 3- Leaving Bet365 Stadium at 10.40am and arriving at Grange Park at 11.55pm

Nicola- Leg 4- Leaving Grange Park at 11.55pm and arriving back at Vale Park at 1.10pm

Thank you in advance for your kind donation which will help us to enhance the well being of older people with dementia and support their carers in their difficult role.