Earlier this year we sadly lost my Nana at the grand age of 93, who suffered from dementia for a number of years. Dementia progressively restricted my Nana's quality of life in later years. Due to this, care for herself and thousands of others is so important. This illness affects not only sufferers, but family, friends and loved ones.

In August this year myself and Sophie O'Hara will be running a half marathon in Dublin in aid of Dementia NI. As many of you know, I have never been a runner, and probably never will be so this is a pretty big deal for me (if I survive). I will be training over the next few months, with the help of my personal trainer Kurtis Gibson (https://www.facebook.com/kurtisgibsonpersonaltraining/) and my lovely friends who want to join me on runs for support. Therefore your help and encouragement through donations will hopefully see me through this daunting task ahead.

As a relatively new charity, who are close to my heart, Dementia NI was set up by 5 members suffering from dementia in January 2015. Today Dementia NI is a membership organisation led by people with dementia who are developing empowerment groups across Northern Ireland, with support from staff and volunteers. Members attend empowerment meetings as well as travel in their local area to give talks at events.

Dementia is an overall term used to describe a wide range of symptoms associated with the deterioration of functions including memory, thinking, behaviour and the ability to perform everyday activities. Symptoms differ from person to person but can affect orientation, perception, understanding, memory, decision making, ability to learn, communication and judgement.

Therefore by raising money and awareness for Dementia NI, I hope to make a small contribution to improving the lives of those who suffer from this terrible disease, I would appreciate any and all donations that you could give to support this extremely worthwhile charity!

Thank you,

Laura