My Experience at Birmingham Memory Walk 2021

Marketing manager Grace takes part in Birmingham Memory Walk 2021 in aid of Alzheimer's Society.

When I saw an email come in my inbox about Birmingham Memory Walk 2021 for Alzheimer’s Society, it immediately caught my attention. Memory Walk is a family-friendly sponsored walk and a fantastic way to show your support and raise some money to make a real difference to people affected by dementia. My gran suffered from dementia, and I knew this was something I had to get involved in.

At Bluebird Care Dudley, Wyre Forest and Malvern Hills, our lovely care assistants often provide home assistance to customers who are affected by dementia and this charity event felt like a perfect way for me to show my support also. I decided to sign up straight away and start fundraising. A few days before the walk, I received my welcome pack in the post. This included a welcome letter, fundraising forms, and a lovely branded, blue t-shirt to wear for the walk.

I set up a JustGiving page and started to share this with my friends and family on social media.  People were happy to support me, as dementia had sadly touched many of their lives and they knew how important this cause was. This was also evident on the day. When I arrived at Sutton Park for the race, I saw a sea of blue t-shirts.

The sun was shining, and the atmosphere was electric.  I was surrounded by people with their own, personal stories of how dementia had affected their lives and they were all standing united against dementia.  To warm-up, we all took part in some Zumba.  This was led by one of the Alzheimer’s Society team members and was great fun. We were then called to begin the walk, and everyone set off through the start line.

We had the option to do a 3K walk or a 7K walk, we followed the 7K route alongside most of the other participants.  Throughout the walk, there were volunteers stationed to encourage us along and let us know how long we had left.  There were also people who had dressed up in fancy dress or had put on face paint which added to the enjoyment.  The walk went very quickly, I think this was because we were having so much fun speaking to other walkers and singing along to music.  Before we knew it, we were approaching the finish line and receiving our medals.

And just like that, the walk was complete.  We made our way out of the park, discussing how lovely our morning had been.  I raised a total of £175 and I will definitely be taking part in the walk again next year to try and beat this target. I felt such a sense of achievement after completing the walk, as this gave me a chance to raise money and to stand against dementia, a disease that affects many of the customers which our care assistants are providing healthcare at home for. When our care assistants are providing domiciliary care to these customers, they are working every day to support these customers cope with this disease and stay living independently, meaning it is a very important cause to us here at Bluebird Care Dudley, Wyre Forest and Malvern hills and I am so happy to have been able to take part in this charity event.

The team at Alzheimer’s Society were so positive and encouraging, making the whole experience amazing and such a lovely way to spend a Saturday morning.

My JustGiving page is still active and if you would like to show your support, please follow the link below:

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