Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.

Our team of 12 volunteers have all kindly agreed to support Kate in her wish to mark her 50th year with a worthwhile challenge. This is her story:

My Mother Mary developed the first symptoms of Alzheimers way back in the mid 80s. At first it was little things but gradually her condition worsened until she became totally dependant on my Father. She was no longer the Mum that we knew and loved, she had regressed to being dependant like a small child - it was heartbreaking for the whole family.

It is a harsh reality that most of us will be touched by this terrible illness, at some point in our lives. There is no cure and there is nothing we can do about the likelihood of us getting it. All we can do is hope that should one of our loved ones be unlucky enough to succumb, they could be looked after by a team of devoted and caring people like those at Vale House.

From the moment you enter the home, you get the sense of a happy and safe haven. The photographs that line the wall tell the story of the many events that they have arranged to make their "clients" feel happy and "at home".

The problem is that Vale House is too small, and the money raised will go towards a project currently underway to build a bigger Vale House, so that more people can benefit from their care.

We never got to the stage of having to make that difficult decison to put Mum in a home as she died peacefully at home in 2001 aged 75. However, if we had to make that decision now, having somewhere like Vale House, would have made that decision so much easier.

Your donation will help many people, so on behalf of the whole team, thank you for your generosity.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.