A St Albans pilates troupe has smashed its fundraising targets through a series of lockdown-friendly fundraisers.
Over the festive period, Pilates in St Albans' Ilana Garman teamed up with Alzheimer's Society to organise a series of charity activities, including a city walking quiz and some virtual stretch classes in return for a donation.
After setting a target of £250, Sylvia Lowe - the head of marketing at the society, who joined Ilana to organise activities - said: "We were blown away to raise over £1,500 for Alzheimer’s Society which, like many charities, has been hit hard financially by the pandemic at a time when our services are in greater need than ever.
With one in four COVID deaths being a person with dementia, members of the pilates class joined events to raise awareness and funds for the charity.
Over 60 people (plus dogs!) took part in the walking quiz, which took participants across the city, and 130 participated in Zoom stretch classes.
Soraya Bowen, Alzheimer’s Society community fundraiser for Herts, said: “We are overwhelmed by how our supporters have stepped up recently, in all kinds of ways, to make sure people affected by dementia continue to get the support they need when they need it most.
"Like all charities, Alzheimer’s Society has been hit hard financially by the ongoing pandemic but it’s thanks to supporters like Ilana and her pilates group, for the money they have raised, that our services can make sure no one faces dementia alone.
“Since lockdown began in March 2020, Alzheimer’s Society’s services -such as its dementia connect support line and welfare calls - have been used nearly three million times across the UK and are proving to be a lifeline.
"By uniting against dementia, Ilana, her pilates groups and all those that took part in this fundraiser in St Albans, are helping to support almost 16,000 people living with dementia across Hertfordshire.”
To find out more about how you can support Alzheimer's Society, visit alzheimers.org.uk/get-involved/events-and-fundraising.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here