£510 for Dementia Adventure, and a Very Good Excuse for Cake

There are worse ways to spend a morning than surrounded by lemon drizzle, Victoria sponge and a suspicious number of empty Tupperware boxes.

Our recent bake sale, organised by our Deputy Care Manager Olivia, raised £510 for Dementia Adventure - a charity that means a great deal to Olivia personally, and to every single one of us here at Right at Home Cheshire East.

We've just received the official thank you certificate from the charity, and honestly? It's going straight on the office wall.

Why Dementia Adventure?

If you've spent any time around dementia care, you'll know how quickly the conversation can turn to what someone can no longer do. Dementia Adventure takes the opposite view, and it's one we share completely.

Their belief is simple: with the right support, people living with dementia can still enjoy new experiences, make lasting memories and stay connected to the people and places they love.

They put that belief into practice through:

• Supported holidays and short breaks for people living with dementia and their loved ones - safe, inclusive trips that bring families back together
• Free training and resources for family carers and care professionals, full of genuinely practical guidance
• Nature-based activities that support physical and emotional wellbeing through time spent outdoors
• Community projects that make green spaces more accessible and dementia-friendly

Their vision is a world where everyone living with dementia can enjoy nature, adventure and social connection - regardless of their circumstances, and without the physical, emotional or financial barriers that so often get in the way.

That sits very comfortably alongside how we think about care. Supporting someone with washing, dressing or medication matters enormously. But it isn't the whole picture. Quality care is about helping someone live the life they've chosen, staying connected to whatever brings them joy, comfort and purpose. Dementia Adventure works to make exactly that possible, on a national scale.

It Turned Into a Proper Community Effort

Here's the part that genuinely surprised us: how quickly it grew beyond the office.

Our Carers baked. Which, given they'd often been on shift that same week, says everything you need to know about them. Cakes, traybakes, biscuits, all of it appearing at the office door in ice cream tubs and biscuit tins.

Bramhall Bakery very kindly donated a batch of their scones, which, and we're saying this with our hands up, outclassed several of our own efforts. Thank you. Sincerely.

Members of Hazel Grove Golf Club dug deep and gave generously, as did people from across the local area who simply heard what we were doing and wanted to help. Some bought cake. Some just handed over a donation and carried on with their day.

That's how you get from a few tins of homemade flapjack to £510.

What £510 Actually Does

It's easy for a fundraising total to become an abstract number on a poster. So it's worth pausing on what this one means.

For Dementia Adventure, money like this goes towards supported holidays for families who wouldn't otherwise get one. It goes towards free training that helps a family carer feel a little less alone and a little more equipped. It goes towards getting someone living with dementia back outdoors, into a garden, along a canal path, onto a beach, when everyone around them had quietly assumed those days were finished.

We work with families across Cheshire East every week who are navigating a dementia diagnosis. We know how isolating it can be, for the person living with it and for the people who love them. Anything that opens a door back up is worth backing.

Thank You

To Olivia, for organising the whole thing and for caring enough to make it happen. To our Carers, who baked after already giving so much of themselves to their Clients. To Bramhall Bakery, to everyone at Hazel Grove Golf Club, and to every neighbour, family member and passer-by who bought a slice or dropped something in the tin.

£510. From cake. Not bad at all.

We'd very much like to make this a regular fixture, so keep an eye out — the next one won't be far off.

Want to know more about Dementia Adventure? Visit dementiaadventure.org to explore their supported holidays, free carer training and community projects.

Supporting someone living with dementia in Cheshire East?

Our team provides specialist dementia care at home across Bramhall, Poynton, Macclesfield, Wilmslow and the surrounding areas.

If you'd like a friendly, no-pressure conversation about what support might look like, call us on 0161 871 7381 or email cheshireeast@rightathome.co.uk.