Devine family raises thousands for dementia research

A family supporting Alzheimer's Research UK threw an afternoon tea and garden sale raising an enormous £6,623 for the charity.
Barney with some of his plants.Barney with some of his plants.
Barney with some of his plants.

The Devine family decided to fundraise in honour of 66-year-old wife and mum Mary who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in 2010.

Around 200 people turned up to the event on Saturday 2 July, which was held under a marquee at their home in Greysteel near Derry,

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People from the local community dropped by between 12pm and 5pm to enjoy an array of tea, sandwiches, cakes and scones, organised by Mary’s five children and her sisters. At the same time, Mary’s husband and full-time carer Barney sold plants he’d grown in his nursery and the family also held a raffle.

Barney commented: “I’m so pleased we were able to raise money for a cause which we hold close to our hearts.

“Mary was a teacher at the local primary school and is well known and respected in the community. Unfortunately Mary wasn’t able to make the event because she was in hospital but I know she would’ve been overwhelmed with the turn out, as we all were.

“Mary’s symptoms started in her 50s which was hard on all the family. We wanted to support Alzheimer’s Research UK because we strongly feel that we need to find a cure for this devastating illness, and the only way is through research. We would like to thank the family, friends, businesses and local community that supported the fundraising event and helped to make the day a great success.”

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Hannah Reynolds, Community and Sporting Events Officer for Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “We were blown away when we received the money from the Devine family’s afternoon tea, raffle and plant sale.

“There are 850,000 people with dementia in the UK, including nearly 20,000 in Northern Ireland. Alzheimer’s Research UK is the leading dementia research charity in the UK focussed on finding treatments and preventions for dementia. Now funding £34 million of research, we’d be unable to do this without our incredible supporters like the Devine family and we can’t thank them enough.”

To donate to the family’s fundraising page go to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/DevineFamily