22 July 2010
Charity bowled over by donation following big debate

The Alzheimer’s Society in the East of England has welcomed a £1,863 donation raised at a ‘big debate’ style event on the subject of Extra Care housing provision in the UK.

Greenwoods Solicitors LLP, leading legal advisers in the fields of social housing, housing development schemes and construction law, and Bramall Construction, a sector leader in Extra Care construction and regeneration, co-organised and co-hosted the two day conference in Cambourne, Cambridgeshire, at the end of April.

The event entitled ‘A Journey through Extra Care – the people, the places, the future’ attracted more than 170 delegates each day and questioned outdated perceptions of what housing, care and support for older people should deliver and look like. The event also focused on the challenges to delivering the future of such accommodation and services in the UK with the aim to provide a broader and more sustainable offer.

One of the key speakers was internationally renowned septuagenarian Professor George Giarchi, a professor of social gerontology - the study of physical, mental and social changes in people as they age.

Professor Giarchi, aged 79, a Professor of Care Studies at Plymouth University, who has pledged to continue lecturing until he is 80, asked for his speaker’s fees to be given as a donation to the Alzheimer’s Society in the South West - boosting the overall total the organisations have been able to donate.

Derbyshire, Essex and England cricketer Geoff ‘Dusty’ Miller also helped raise funds for the charity at the event with the auction of a cricket bat signed by the 1976 England cricket team. The winning bid came from cricket fanatic Martin Cooper of Concept MS Consulting who was at the very match where the bat was used.

Sponsors and supporters of the conference, donated some excellent raffle prizes and the proceeds from the raffle held during the event’s Gala dinner, were also donated to the Alzheimer’s Society.

Paul Dunnery, Area Manager, Alzheimer's Society (East Anglia and the Central Region), said: “It is fantastic to have this support as 100,000 people develop dementia every year in the UK- that’s one every 5.3 minutes. Without financial support and awareness created from events like a “journey through extra care” the Alzheimer’s Society would not be able to lead the fight against dementia providing information, support services and research, ultimately aiming to find a cure.”

Graham Cooper, Head of Social Housing at Greenwoods said: "We were delighted that the event generated an excellent sum for the Alzheimer's Society in the East of England. It is particularly appropriate as the debate at the event challenged outdated perceptions of what housing, care and support for older people should deliver and look like in the future."

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