Author: Isobel Wise

A huge thank you for all the fantastic support we’ve been granted from our funders recently, and to all those fab people who have raised vital funds for Alive through amazing efforts in marathon and 10K races and our recent Step Into May walking events.

An enormous thank you to the trusts and foundations below for their incredible support of our Dementia Meeting Centres and community-based dementia services: The Fairfield Charitable Trust (£10,000), The Souter Charitable Trust (£3,000), The Hedley Foundation (£3,000), and The Anchor Society (£10,000). Alive wouldn’t be able to continue to run these invaluable services without their generous support – thank you so much!

Thank you too to Karl Harris for raising a brilliant £1,731 with his London Marathon fundraising, our lovely Trustee Catherine Smith for raising a fantastic grand total of £1,248 through her Bristol 10K race, and all the Alive staff and supporters who helped raise an amazing £2,600 in our Step Into May campaign!

For more information on how you can support our charity, reach out to our Fundraising Manager via fundraising@aliveactivities.org or call the office on 07861 385 543.

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Published in time for Pride Month, we’re thrilled to share a selection of the letters written by and for different generations of LGBTQ+ members in our local community.

As part of our intergenerational STANd project, Letters to My Younger Self invited over 50s in the LGBTQ+ community to reflect on their experiences growing up and then share them with younger people through the exchange of letters, poems, drawings and playlists.

Take a read by clicking on the booklet cover below:

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Helping to bring our work to life, here’s to Alive’s fantastic volunteers. Generously sharing their time, kindness, skills, and joy with the older people we support and our staff, our brilliant team of volunteers assist us across our:

🌱 Dementia-friendly gardening groups

👶 Intergenerational sessions

❤️ Dementia support groups

🤝 Community groups & projects

🏥 Hospital gardens

💌 Carer’s sessions – and more!

We’re also incredibly grateful to have such supportive trustees, volunteering their time and expertise which is so vital to our charity.

The true heart of Alive, we couldn’t do what we do without them. Happy Volunteers’ Week to you all!

Fancy making a difference to the lives of older people? Get involved and find out more.

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We were thrilled to accept the prestigious Prize of Honour at this year’s Prince of Wales Award for our Hoppiness Project.

Presented at the opening ceremony of the Royal Bath & West Show, the award celebrates projects run by the community, for the community, and is proudly sponsored by the Duchy of Cornwall.

Picking up the award alongside Community Services Manager, Jen, our CEO Isobel Jones said:

“I couldn’t quite believe it when they announced us as winners. My heartfelt thanks goes out to the panel of judges who told us their decision was unanimous – this is such an honour.”

“To see the Hoppiness Project capture the hearts of so many people over the years has been a real privilege.“

What began as a care home resident’s joke about “growing beer”, our Hoppiness Project has blossomed into something rather special since its inception. Starting out as a small pilot at Deerhurst Care Home in 2023, it then grew into a University of Bristol research collaboration, and last year culminated in the co-designing – and growing hops for – a centenary beer made alongside St Monica Trust residents and local brewery Wiper and True.

This year sees the project returning to its heart: sessions in care homes, thanks to funding from The Shaw Trust.

Find out more about The Hoppiness Project.

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Give it up for everyone that joined our group walk on Saturday raising money for Alive!

We’ve raised over £2.4K so far for our Step Into May appeal: encouraging people to get active to help light up later life.

Taking on 1, 5 and 10-mile routes through Bristol, it was a wonderful chance to share stories about our work and take in the sights of our city (even if we weren’t too fond of the hill at Ashton Court!).

A huge thank you to everyone that joined us and a special shout out to the folks at Good Miles and Walk Bristol for their kind support.

There’s still time to donate, so please help us raise funds to support older people and their carers by donating to our JustGiving page.

Every step counts!

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We are devastated to learn of the sad passing of Emma Britton over the weekend. She was an incredible person – full of empathy, love and compassion, with such a wonderful sense of fun – and this came across in everything she did.

Emma was a huge advocate and friend of Alive. It all started in 2018 when Emma was the voice and face of the BBC Radio Bristol Breakfast Show. Alive somehow became Radio Bristol’s Charity of the Year, which was absolutely huge for us. We worked together for 18 months, and Emma and the other presenters helped raise more than £30,000 for Alive.

Emma was the driving force behind so much of it – hosting fundraising events, taking on a Couch to 5K challenge which she absolutely smashed, and even interviewing a chicken live on air! There were so many brilliantly funny and engaging moments with her.

But more than anything, Emma had an extraordinary ability to connect with people. Whenever she attended our activity sessions, she immediately understood the difference that activity, connection and engagement can make to people living with dementia. Her empathy shone through, and she brought smiles wherever she went.

“Emma was an absolute star and her genuine love for people shone out both on and off the radio. She had a brilliant sense of humour and an incredible ability to connect with everyone she met. We are hugely grateful for everything Emma brought to the appeal.”

“Personally, Emma really encouraged me to speak on the radio, and it was such a privilege to chat with her regularly. She will be so deeply missed by so many people.” Said Isobel Jones, CEO of Alive.

The world was a brighter place with Emma in it. Our thoughts and love are with all her family and friends.

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A huge thank you to everyone that joined us for Let’s Talk Dementia at Bristol Beacon on Saturday 23rd May.

It was brilliant to see so many people come together to share activities and moments of connection. A massive shout out to the expert speakers and those who ran our creative sessions and stalls – to experience such community support and passion surrounding dementia research, care, and understanding was inspiring.

We’re incredibly proud to have brought this event to life alongside BRACE Alzheimer’s Research and Bristol Dementia Action Alliance.

A special thank you to our sponsors for making this event possible: ReMemBr Group (University of Bristol), St Monica Trust & Shakespeare Martineau.

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We did it! Alive were crowned winners at the UK Dementia Awards last week.

Celebrating our hoppy work brewing beer in care homes, our Hoppiness Project picked up the prestigious Promoting Health & Wellbeing Award.

With our Lullaby Circle also a finalist for the Intergenerational Award, it was an honour to see our work spotlighted.

A huge thank you to our wonderful team for bringing projects like this to life, and to Dementia Community and all of the other finalists. It’s a real privilege to be nominated alongside such incredible work.

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We invite you to join us at Let’s Talk Dementia, a free public information event on Saturday 23rd May, 10.30am – 16.30pm, at the Bristol Beacon. 

Let’s Talk Dementia is a one-stop shop for all things dementia. This free event is suitable for everyone. Whether you are living with the condition, caring for someone with dementia or looking to learn more about this common health condition.

Arrive at a time that suits you, and stay for as long as you like. The Bristol Beacon is a fully accessible venue.

Book your free tickets on Ticket Tailor

At Let’s Talk Dementia you can:

– Attend short talks from dementia specialists

– Take part in a dementia friendly activity

– Meet experts in care, health, research, legal matters and much more.

This event is brought to you by three Bristol charities specialising in dementia, research, and improving the lives and care of older people.

Alive Activities is the UK’s leading charity enriching the lives of older people in care and training their carers.

BRACE Dementia Research funds world-class clinical and laboratory research into Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia to achieve earlier diagnosis, find better treatments and one day, a cure.

Bristol Dementia Action Alliance educates the communities of Bristol about dementia and supports those living with dementia and their loved ones through activity groups.

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We are absolutely thrilled to announce we are finalists for two UK Dementia Care Awards!

Our Hoppiness Project is a finalist in the Promoting Health & Wellbeing Award and our Lullaby Circle is up for the Intergenerational Award.

Best of luck to the other finalists – it’s just brilliant to be a part of such incredible work that is happening across the country to improve the lives of people living with dementia.

You can find the full list of finalists on the Dementia Community website.

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