Friday the 30th of April would have been Captain Tom's birthday. He was an inspirational man and in memory of his great fundraising spirit, doing 100 laps of his garden, we are asking you to take up the challenge on behalf of unpaid carers and the people they care for. You could learn 100 dance moves, bake 100 biscuits, go up and down your stairs 100 times, or how about 100 minutes of silence?!

Caitlin and Dan (pictured above) helped Linda to make 100 Cupcakes

Unpaid Carers are those people who provide help and support to a partner, child, relative or friend who could not manage without their help. This could be due to age, physical or mental illness, addiction or disability.

Sometimes caring can mean rushing home to make sure Mum has taken her medication. Caring can mean helping an elderly neighbour to buy their shopping. Caring could be staying close by a relative with dementia to keep them safe 24 x 7. Caring can be assisting a young adult with physical disabilities to get out of bed and eat their breakfast. Caring comes in a myriad of guises and many of us will find ourselves in one of these roles in our lifetimes.

Although many unpaid carers say they would not have it any other way, they can sometimes feel trapped within their own homes and in desperate need of support and a break of some sort. All funds raised would go help us at Crossroads Care to support unpaid carers in any way they individually need. This could be direct care in the home to give them time to themselves, or arranging a group outing. It could be a lift to the doctors to make that appointment. We have even arranged for family visits to see Father Christmas and young carers to go to Cotswold Wildlife Park. We care for the well-being, and health of those unpaid carers who care for others.