Kent Golfers Use Their Drive to Raise £5,000 for Dementia Research

Etchinghill Golf Club has raised an enormous £5,000 for Alzheimer’s Research UK in twelve months, after naming the UK’s leading dementia research charity as their Charity of the Year. The 350-strong club, based at Etchinghill near Folkestone, pulled together the huge sum with a range of events throughout the year, including golfing games, a quiz and several raffles.

The club chose to raise money for Alzheimer’s Research UK after being inspired about the work of the charity by dementia research scientist Dr Kate Kellett, the daughter of ladies’ captain Rosemary Davey.

Rosemary explained:
“Everyone knows someone with dementia – my own mother had the condition, and it seems that most families have been affected these days. Age is the biggest risk factor for dementia and with many people in the club over 55, it’s a big health concern for us all as we look to the future. Because of Kate’s job I’m very aware that research to find new treatments is desperately underfunded, which is one of the reasons we chose to support Alzheimer’s Research UK. I’m so proud of the work Kate does, and we know there are researchers all over the country who are just as dedicated as she is, so we were all pleased to have raised so much for their work.

“Etchinghill is a very friendly club and it was no surprise to see everyone get involved to help raise money. We had local companies sponsoring holes for one of our games, and plenty of people donating raffle prizes and taking part in our fundraising events. Everyone has been so generous, and it was wonderful to see the whole club pull together to help this important cause.”

Club members had the chance to hear first-hand from Dr Kellett about Alzheimer’s Research UK’s work at their annual dinner last month, where she was also able to explain more about her own research at the University of Leeds.

She said:
“My colleagues and I are focused on understanding an enzyme called BACE-1, which plays a role in the production of a protein that builds in the brain during Alzheimer’s. We hope that our work will enable the design of new drugs to tackle the disease – we need to understand what’s going on in Alzheimer’s in order to develop new treatments.

“Funding from Alzheimer’s Research UK has been extremely important to allow our team’s work to progress. As a scientist I’m very aware of how much money is needed to carry out research, and knowing how hard people work to raise that money really does put it into perspective. The thought that the public is willing to support research really helps spur on our work, and it was great to meet the ladies of Etchinghill Golf Club and to thank them for their efforts.”

Parminder Summon, Community Fundraising Manager at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said:
“This is a fantastic effort and we are really grateful to the club members for their wonderful support. The amount they’ve raised will pay for 250 hours of pioneering research, bringing new treatments, preventions and improved diagnosis for dementia ever closer.

“Over 17,000 people in Kent alone are affected by dementia, yet we still lack treatments to stop the diseases that cause dementia. Alzheimer’s Research UK funds top scientists through more than 140 groundbreaking projects worth over £20 million in our determination to defeat dementia. As we receive no government funding, we rely on our enthusiastic supporters to fund this crucial research. There are lots of ways to raise money for our work. The first step is to contact us on 01223 843899 or email fundraising@alzheimersresearchuk.org to request a free fundraising pack or to talk about your fundraising ideas.”

This material has been published with the kind permission of Alzheimer Research UK.

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