Victoria Hegarty
Victoria's Mount Kilimanjaro Trek
Fundraising for Alzheimer's Society
Story
The Challenge
I am climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free standing mountain in the world at 5895 metres or 19,341 feet above sea level. The trek takes 7 days and is rated as extreme, making it one of the most challenging and difficult charity treks. I depart for Tanzania on 14th August 2015.
The Charity
I have chosen to fundraise for the Alzheimer's Society as my grandmother, Beryl Bothamley suffered from dementia before she passed away in 2009.
In 2012 I undertook the Four Peaks Challenge where I climbed the four highest mountains in the Lake District, raising money for the Alzheimer's Society. During this trek I met many people, all of whom were fundraising for the Alzheimer's Society and heard lots of different, personal stories of people coping with a loved one living with this debilitating and difficult condition and how the Alzheimer's Society helped and supported them. This further inspired me to continue fundraising for this charity.
The Alzheimer's Society works to improve the quality of life of people affected by dementia in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. They do this by working in local communities, providing help and support to sufferers and their families; providing up to date, accessible information via telephone and the internet; funding research into the causes, good care and treatment and pursuing a cure; and by raising awareness of dementia and campaigning for the rights of sufferers.
About Dementia and Alzheimers
- Dementia is a term used to describe a set of symptoms including memory loss, mood changes and problems with communication and reasoning.
- It is caused by diseases of the brain NOT by growing old.
- There are 3 main causes of Dementia:
- Alzheimer's Disease - A physical disease caused by changes in the structure of the brain and a shortage of important chemicals which affect the transmission of messages.
- Vascular Dementia - Caused by disruption of the blood supply to the brain, often occuring after a stroke or series of small strokes.
- Mixed Dementia - A mixture of Alzheimer's and Vascular Dementia.
- There are currently 800,000 dementia sufferers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but this is predicted to increase to 1.7 million by 2051.
- 2/3 of people with dementia are women.
- 1 in 3 people over 65 will develop dementia.
What your donation could do to help
£5 buys a half hour session for one person at a monthly Dementia Cafe, providing information and support for people with dementia and their carers.
£20 buys 100 copies of the most requested factsheet - Understanding and Respecting the person with Dementia.
£50 buys one days funding for a PhD researcher to continue vital resarch into causes, treatment and ultimately a cure for dementia.
£120 buys one day's running of Talking Point, the 24/7 online community for all people affected by dementia.
88% of all donations to the Alzheimer's Society goes directly towards improving the lives of people with dementia.
12% of donations is spent on supporting frontline activity including IT and local bases around the country.
I have agreed to raise £4000 for the Alzheimer's Society, so any donation, however small, will take me closer towards my target and be much appreciated by myself and the families and friends of Alzheimers and dementia sufferers.
Thank you :-)
If you would like more information about the excellent work of the Alzheimers Society, please visit http://www.alzheimers.org.uk
If you would like more information about the trek I am undertaking, please visit https://www.discoveradventure.com/challenges/mount-kilimanjaro-trek
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