Charity of the Month - Dementia UK

We’re delighted to be supporting Dementia UK as our charity of the month throughout January!

During the month, you can round up your orders to the nearest £1 at the checkout and all money raised will be donated to Dementia UK, a registered charity in England and Wales (1039404) and Scotland (SCO47429). A company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales (02944156).

We’ll again be matching all donations so whatever you donate, we’ll donate the same, doubling the total amount raised for the charity.

About Dementia UK:

Dementia UK's Volunteer Ambassador and our lovely customer, Maureen Winfield, kindly got in touch with us to discuss her experience with Dementia UK and nominated the charity for our Charity of the Month. We were delighted to hear about Maureen's experience with Dementia UK and how she uses her knitting talents to raise money for the charity. For Christmas 2020, she has raised £800 for Dementia UK by making festive covers for chocolate oranges. Amazing work Maureen!

Dementia UK provides specialist dementia support for families through our Admiral Nurse service. They give the compassionate one-to-one support, guidance and practical solutions people need, and that can be hard to find elsewhere.

Dementia UK believes that everyone who needs the support of a specialist dementia nurse should get one, and the charity are working hard to increase the number of Admiral Nurses across the UK.

Admiral Nurses are continually trained, developed and supported by Dementia UK. Families that have their support have someone truly expert and caring by their side. They are a lifeline, helping families to live more positively with dementia in the present, and to face the challenges of tomorrow with more confidence and less fear.

To find out more about the vital work that Dementia UK does please visit their website.

Helping those with Dementia by knitting 'Twiddle Muffs':

Our partnership inspired Dementia UK's ‘crafty’ Corporate Partnerships Executive, Josanne, to look at the benefits of knitting.

"In the past few weeks, I’ve read many articles about the benefits of knitting, and they all talk about wellbeing benefits such as stress relief, reducing depression and anxiety, and even lowering blood pressure. One article mentioned that it was as relaxing as yoga. No wonder knitting saw a boom in 2020, with both the BBC and Forbes Magazine reporting it as a ‘cool’ activity once more. Knitting can also help to stimulate different areas of the brain and help with attention and concentration, so it led me to think it could help someone with dementia too.

I’ve been in touch with my local knit ‘n’ natter group in Sheffield for a few years now, as they have created items for my charity raffles and tombolas. When they heard I was going to work at Dementia UK, they decided to make some twiddle muffs and blankets. I had never heard of these before and was amazed the see the range of colours, buttons, bells, and ribbons" - Josanne, Corporate Partnerships Executive, Dementia UK.

For more information on how to make 'Twiddle Muffs' please visit Dementia UK's website here.

Last month's charity of the month:

Throughout December, we helped to support Crisis and raised an incredible £1,784 thanks to your checkout donations. Thank you so much to everyone who donated! We’ll also be matching your donations bringing the total raised for the charity to £3,568.

Crisis work directly with thousands of homeless people, providing vital help so that people can rebuild their lives and are supported out of homelessness for good. Read more here.