Over 200 guests attended ‘A Night to Remember’ at the Leicester Tigers stadium on 8th March, to support the campaign to get the first community-based Admiral Nurse for Leicestershire. Admiral Nurses are specialist nurses, who work with families where there is a diagnosis of dementia. Here's what happened on the night!
Chesterton House supported the event with two tables, and members of our Team and their guests enjoyed a meal together whilst learning more about Admiral Nurses and the work that they do, and helping to swell the funds towards appointing the first such Nurses in Leicestershire.
Dementia UK Leicestershire is one of the three charities being supported by Leicester Tigers during the 2018/19 season, so the charity was delighted to host a dinner at Welford Road to increase awareness about the work of Admiral Nurses; raise funds for the campaign; and thank the community groups, companies and individuals that have already helped raise £80,000 over a twenty-month period.
Local dignitaries in attendance included the Lord & Lady Mayoress of Leicestershire; the Leader of Rutland County Council (as hosts to two Admiral Nurses in the neighbouring county); and the Deputy Mayor of Charnwood (Brenda Seaton).
Dr Hilda Hayo, as the CEO and Chief Admiral Nurse of Dementia UK, gave the keynote address. She was supported by Paul Edwards, Director of Clinical Services for Dementia UK, who reported back on progress being made by the campaign, which has already resulted in the appointment of the Admiral Nurse at LOROS; confirmation that another will commence work with University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL) at the beginning of April; and that discussions are under way regarding the appointment of an Admiral Nurse in a primary care capacity within Charnwood. Special guests also included Jo Kavanagh, as Director of Patient Services at LOROS, along with Cathy Knight, their newly appointed Admiral Nurse.
A video, hosted by Bleddyn Jones of BBC Radio Leicester, was shown during the evening; where Bleddyn (himself a Tigers legend with 333 appearances) interviewed Brett Deacon (Tigers Coach and former player) and Sam Harrison. You can view it yourself below:
This also incorporated a special feature on Bob & Lindsay Stoddart-Mudge, as season ticket holders for 20 years and an example of a family that Dementia UK is working to support when there is a diagnosis of dementia, through the Admiral Nursing service.
Two young Tigers players took part in a Q&A session, where Tommy Reffell (U20 Welsh Captain) and Thom Smith (U18) were asked about their Tigers memories to date, making this into a wonderful ‘Night to Remember’.
There was a huge amount of work carried out behind the scenes to make the Dinner a success. The work that has been done by a volunteer fundraising group, many of whom have been directly affected by the effects of dementia in their families, and all equally passionate about bringing this essential support to Leicestershire, has been remarkable and we salute their efforts.
The Dinner raised an amazing £7,000 on the night, with donations still coming in.
We were delighted to have been able to support this event and help raise the profile of the Leicestershire Admiral Nurse campaign. If you would like to contribute you can send a cheque, made payable to Dementia UK Leicestershire, to our office and we’ll make sure it’s passed on.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you may also like Coffee and Cake for Christmas