Action on Dementia, a charity which provides support to people with dementia living in the City of Sunderland and their families, carers and friends, has received a donation of £1,000 from Wallsend-based OGN Group as part of a workplace safety initiative.
Action on Dementia Sunderland was nominated by OGN Group employee Dave Lash from Seaham who, earlier this year, ran the London Marathon in support of the charity.
The donation comes from a workplace initiative created by OGN Group, which has raised more than £75,000 for local causes in four years. OGN Group’s Safety Incentive Scheme, which raises money, most recently in partnership with its client Kvaerner, is based on safe working practices undertaken by staff.
Since it was established, OGN’s workplace initiative has raised more than £1,500 every month. Employees at OGN nominate worthy causes and gather every quarter to present their chosen charities with funds raised through their positive safety performance.
Bill Laurie, General Manager at OGN Group, said: “The team working out of Hadrian Yard have made a tremendous effort over the past four years – raising £75,000 for worthy local causes which are in need of extra support.
“We regularly receive a large amount of nominations from staff; and the scheme is very well respected and also provides a great way for us to maintain and promote our safety culture. Action on Dementia is a fantastic charity that provides amazing support to people with dementia and their families living in the City of Sunderland.”
Action on Dementia Sunderland is a voluntary organisation that was formed in 2010 to promote the interests of people who have dementia and those of their families. It provides a range of services in the community including holding ‘memory cafes’,and a lunch club and friendship group whichprovide an opportunity for people with dementia, families and carers to meet with others to ask questions of professionals and learn from the experiences of other people with the same condition.
The charity also provides a hospital visiting and befriending service and a home visit and befriending service and operates with four part-time staff as well as volunteers who help with professional services such as leaflet design. The charity has its own constitution based on democratic principles with local control and accountability.
Ernie Thompson, Chairman of Action on Dementia Sunderland, said: “I’d like to thank OGN for donating the money, which will be a big help. We have several memory cafes located around the city that offer social and peer support to people with dementia and their families.
“One of the problems people have is accessing transport to and from the cafes as even though there are several cafes many people with the condition are unable to use public transport. We would like to be able to provide transport to offer a better service to people visiting the cafes, and to encourage even more people to use them and benefit from the services we offer.”
This month, the £4,000 pot has been divided between Action on Dementia and three other charities, including The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, Bright Red, a blood cancer charity based at the Freeman Hospital and the Forward Assist Veteran Support Charity, which supports ex-service personal facing challenging circumstances.