James Winney, of Ross-on-Wye, decided he wanted to help raise money for the charity Dementia UK after his grandfather, who suffered with dementia, passed away in June, 2018.

James held a successful charity event on the evening of Saturday, September 8th, at the Royal Hotel, Ross-on-Wye.

He told the Ross Gazette how his grandfather had suffered with the illness for three years, and for the last two years he lived in a care home. James said: “When he lived at home, volunteer carers would visit every week for a couple of hours. It was helpful for my family, my grandmother could go out and do her shopping and things like that.”

James and his family are also grateful for the help of the staff from Westbank Care Home. It was seeing the care and kindness shown to his grandparents that spurred him on to wanting to raise money to help others who are, or care for, somebody living with dementia.

James told the Ross Gazette: “I gave myself six weeks to set up the event. I organised a raffle and an auction, and the Royal Hotel kindly allowed us to use their room for free. I am grateful for that, as I wanted it to be at the Royal Hotel because that’s where my grandfather’s wake was.

“I rang the charity, Dementia UK, so that I was able to raise the money in their name. When they asked, I told them I hoped to raise around £800.”

James was amazed at the success of the evening. It resulted in a total of £2069 being raised. He said: “Now, I want to try and organise a charity event every year. I have already booked next year’s event, and my target is £3000.”

James’ charity event in 2019 will be held in the Stable Room at the Eagle Inn, on September 28th. See this week’s paper for more stories like this, available in shops and as a Digital Edition now.