Sanctuary Care Homes have raised over £700 for Dementia UK

Residents and staff at Sanctuary Care Homes held a series of tea parties including a vintage-themed tea party and a Mad Hatters Tea Party and raised over £700 for Dementia UK.

The tea parties were held as part of a national Time for a Cuppa initiative.

Claire Curtis, fundraising and communications manager at Dementia UK said: 'Twenty-five million people in the UK have a close friend or family member with dementia. That’s a staggering 42 per cent of the population. Money raised from the Time for a Cuppa parties will help Dementia UK to expand and develop their services to reach more family carers and those affected by dementia across the country.'

Residents at Watlington & District Nursing Home in Oxfordshire, got out the fine china and held a vintage-themed tea party with a quiz about life in this decade. The home’s activities leader, Liza Simon, said the event was a wonderful reminiscence activity, especially for those residents living with dementia.

The old television footage from the 1940s and music from the era prompted discussions about residents’ memories.

Ms Simon said: ‘They really loved it and it brought back to their minds things that they had forgotten about this era.’

At Ivydene Nursing Home in Plymouth, staff dressed up as characters from Alice in Wonderland, with manager Amanda Walker as the Queen of Hearts, care assistant Zoe Curtis as Alice and chef Ian Harris playing the role of the Mad Hatter.

At Yarnton Residential and Nursing Home in Oxfordshire, Oxford United Football Club’s first team and Chairman Kelvin Thomas dropped by to drink tea with residents.

Time for a Cuppa is Dementia UK’s annual fundraising event.