Great Giving Day

It's been a very exciting day for the network today as we launch the Sporting Memories charity's JustGiving account in time to start raising much needed funds to support the volunteers helping with projects across the UK. We don't have a media team, nor a fundraising one, just a determination to make every action and every penny count.

The charity and network are entirely self funded and we have a policy of not charging participants, ensuring all sporting memories activities offered are free to all attending. This means hours and hours are spent applying for grants to ensure local groups are established, but are also sustained.

We know the groups can have a real impact on the physical and mental wellbeing of older people, there are so many more aspects to the activity than purely reminiscing about favourite sporting moments. New friendships are formed, trips out get arranged and sports are rediscovered.

Gaining registered charitable status for Sporting Memories means a lot. Anyone who has pursued the path of registration will know the amazing feeling experienced when you finally get the stamp of approval. This will hopefully be the next BIG step forward in taking this work forward and helping to support older people living with dementia, depression & those who are isolated

The real excitement today was seeing the first of our runners taking part in this year's Great North Run, Jamie Weston, set up his justgiving page and immediately get a £10 donation! https://www.justgiving.com/JamieDoesGNR

Also running for Sporting Memories is Katie Mansfield whose Dad was a very keen athlete and keeping the sporting theme her Grandfather captained Leyton Orient in the 1930's (read more here)

Pictured above is Katie's Dad David Searle running a 400M sprint against his great friend Chris Chattaway in 1960. After his retirement David suffered a number of mini strokes and developed vascular dementia. He sadly passed away in 2010 at the age of 73 after contracting pneumonia.

You can sponsor Katie via her justgiving page here:  https://www.justgiving.com/Katie-Mansfield2

We will reveal more runners this week, all of whom have a special target they are aiming to raise funds for (more on that too)

running a 400m sprint against his friend, Chris Chattaway, in 1960 - See more at: http://www.sportingmemoriesnetwork.com/charity/fundraising/#sthash.WXBj3R9Z.dpuf

After he retired Dad suffered a series of mini strokes which eventually led to him developing vascular dementia quite young - he was only 73 when we lost him to pneumonia in 2010. He had lost the power of speech due to the vascular dementia, but always seemed happy, especially when we sat and read his Orient history book with him which had photos of my Granddad in. I wish Sporting Memories had been around when Dad was still with us - I really believe he would have enjoyed to sit with a trained volunteer and reminisce about his sporting history. - See more at: http://www.sportingmemoriesnetwork.com/charity/fundraising/#sthash.WXBj3R9Z.dpuf

After he retired Dad suffered a series of mini strokes which eventually led to him developing vascular dementia quite young - he was only 73 when we lost him to pneumonia in 2010. He had lost the power of speech due to the vascular dementia, but always seemed happy, especially when we sat and read his Orient history book with him which had photos of my Granddad in. I wish Sporting Memories had been around when Dad was still with us - I really believe he would have enjoyed to sit with a trained volunteer and reminisce about his sporting history. - See more at: http://www.sportingmemoriesnetwork.com/charity/fundraising/#sthash.WXBj3R9Z.dpuf