In January, Bipsync UK announced that we’ll be supporting Alzheimer’s Society as our chosen charity for 2023/24. We’ve been busy the past 6 months organizing many fundraising activities, and are excited to provide an update on what we’ve been up to so far this year.
The UK is currently knee-deep in a cost of living crisis which threatens to severely impact the vital work done by so many charities. It’s harder than ever to ask people to put their hands in their pockets but, without their kind support, nonprofits risk seeing all their hard work come to a halt. We are determined not to let that happen.
February
Our People Experience Manager, Heather Perkins, kicked off our endeavors with a bang. By cutting off her long, ever-changing, and colorful hair, we raised an impressive sum of £1,960!
In the UK, there is a government scheme called Gift Aid, through which charities can claim an extra 25 pence for every £1 from individual taxpayers who donate through this means. This added an extra £322 to the pot, taking us to £2,282 of our £5,000 overall target in just one event!
March/April
Our next event was something a little longer term – a sunflower race. We sold seeds as starter kits (shoutout to Ajay Boby, one of our QA engineers, who provided all the administration) and in August we will measure our blooms to see whose has grown the tallest.
To say there’s been mixed success between our gardeners in an understatement! Including gift aid, this has added a further £94 to our efforts and brought us together as a team watching to see who’s cultivated the best chance for glory. New total: £2,376.
May
Bipsync UK successfully sold some of our gently used equipment. This has consistently been a beneficial boost to our charity fund and helps us minimize our impact on landfills. Additionally, it allows individuals who may not have the financial means to access quality electrical equipment. With an additional £390 raised, our total now stands at £2,766, and no doubt will this be a continued source of charitable donations throughout the year to come.
July
A long hot June gave way to some fresher weather at the start of July and a coastal trek was planned. A group of UK Bipsyncers, plus two friends from other companies, completed a phenomenal weekend walk from the town of Barry back to Cardiff. What started as 26km at the start of the day turned into a stretch target of 26 miles (42km) – marathon distance! Aside from some blisters, everyone survived and even enjoyed walking so far! Between online and offline donations, gift aid, and a very kind £250 donation from the company one of the friends works for, this epic trek’s running total (pardon the pun!) currently stands at £2,194.
Looking ahead
Added to the previous total, this means that at the six-month mark, we are already at £4,960 raised, a mere £40 away from our original target which we thought would take two years! But we don’t plan to stop at £5,000. Dementia is too big an issue and it’s touched too many of our lives not to dedicate ourselves to raising as much money as we possibly can between now and the end of 2024.
And it’s worthwhile. Recently, there has been a massive scientific breakthrough which simply would not have been possible without the public’s donations over the years. Results of a phase three clinical trial shared in May shows that the drug Donanemab – a treatment for early-stage Alzheimer’s disease – appears to slow the progression of symptoms by 36%, compared to 27% of last year’s breakthrough drug Lecanemab. Promisingly, the trial also demonstrated a 40% slowing in decline of everyday activities such as driving, doing hobbies and managing finances.
In response to these initial results, Dr Richard Oakley, Associate Director of Research, said: ”After 20 years with no new Alzheimer’s drugs, we now have two potential new drugs in just twelve months – and for the first time, drugs that seem to slow the progression of disease. This could be the beginning of the end of Alzheimer’s disease.”
We really hope it is, and are so proud to be contributing towards it. If you’d like to make a difference and support Alzheimer’s Society, you can contribute by donating here.
