West Yorkshire Official Liverpool FC Supporters Club’s 1,000 mile fundraising challenge gives a boost to Mayor of Wakefield’s 2024 charity Memory Action Group
Official LFC Supporters Club (OLSC) members collectively covered 1,000 miles in July to raise money for Wakefield’s Memory Action Group charity.
Memory Action Group founder Jan Archbold said the fundraising efforts were: “Absolutely fantastic. It’s incredible. There’s so many amazing people out there who are trying to support us.”
Memory Action Group is a peer support group set up in 2018 by Jan for people living with dementia and their carers. The group offers a twice weekly drop-in centre, activities, information and more. It provides day trips across the year, with one trip planned to Blackpool for afternoon tea in October. The group is run by a handful of volunteers and relies on donations to fund its services. As well as this, Jan said the group is trying to save up money to relocate to bigger premises and enhance its services.
Jan said: “Dementia affects such a lot of people and the numbers are growing. There are lots of things we cannot do because of a lack of space [and] I am actively looking for bigger premises. Once I find [a new] place the costs are going to be quite high. Every bit of money we raise is just for the centre and the people who come.”
Jan is also a research ambassador, and is campaigning for those diagnosed with dementia to receive better support that matches the support offered to sufferers of other illnesses.
Around 50 members of the OLSC West Yorkshire group worked together across seven days – July 13 to 20 – to collectively cover 1,000 miles through walking and cycling to raise money for the Wakefield charity.
On Saturday, July 20, one group of OLSC members walked from the Navigation Pub in Wakefield to Liversedge Cricket Club 9.7 miles away, whilst another cycled approximately 39 miles from the cricket club to Standedge Tunnel and back again. The efforts of the club have so far raised over £4,700 via a Just Giving page. Other members also carried out individual challenges to add to the overall miles, including one member who completed three 12km runs.
Memory Action Group – chosen by the Mayor of Wakefield Coun Darren Byford for this year’s charity appeal – is based at West Wakefield Methodist Church and more information can be found on the Alzheimer’s Society website.