The Honiton Admiral Nurse Campaign achieved its target with time to spare, but the fundraising goes for the future of the service
It was a fundraising campaign which was launched with gusto - raising £25,000 in the first eight months of its conception.
Now, with £130,000 more collected, Honiton can proudly say ‘We have an Admiral Nurse’.
The appointment of the nurse, who will officially be unveiled in days to come, is a coup for a town which so enthusiastically backed a three-year campaign launched by Honiton Dementia Action Alliance (DAA) in September 2017.
And its telling that it’s a community that cares - as the £150,000 was impressively reached two-and-a-half years earlier than anticipated - albeit with a huge helping hand from Honiton Hospital Community League of Friends.
The group agreed to provide £130,000 towards the campaign, but the £25,000 raised in just eight months was the result of hard work and planning by generous members and businesses of Honiton’s community.
Heather Penwarden, chair of Honiton DAA, says: “Assuming references and checks are all approved, we should be in a position to introduce her to you by February.
“This is very exciting and many families supporting someone living with dementia in Honiton and the surrounding villages will soon be able to benefit from the expert advice and support that our Admiral Nurse will offer.
“The nurse will be based at Honiton Hospital alongside the community nurses so she will very much be working as a team with all the other community care workers.”
A grand selection of fundraising events were held to support the Admiral Nurse campaign, all filtering much-needed funds towards the £150,000 target.
Staff at Alan Rowe Barbers were blown away with the community response to a copper collection they held.
Residents would turn up with bags of pennies, which would go towards filling a glass boot on the cashier’s desk.
In just three months, £500 was donated in pennies.
Another key fundraiser was an art auction held by the town’s Thelma Hulbert Gallery.
Despite being cancelled due to heavy snowfall last March, the auction was rescheduled for a few months’ later.
Attracting more than 100 bidders, the auction raised £14,000 for the campaign and the gallery’s learning programme - with both causes netting an even split of the profits.
Youngsters at Honiton Community College did their bit for the campaign as well, by staging a 24-hour triathlon.
With staff and teachers stationed on a treadmill, exercise bike and rowing machine, they worked hard throughout the night to raise nearly £1,500 for the appeal.
The campaign was also monitored by Honiton Town Council, which received dementia awareness training from Heather in 2016.
Former Honiton mayor and current town councillor Caroline Kolek says: “It is important we, as councillors, understand the needs of all our ward members and are able to liaise and support them accordingly.
“When the next Honiton Town Council is elected in May 2019, I hope that an early action point will be for Heather to deliver this training again.
“This will ensure that all councillors understand the issues faced not only by dementia sufferers but also their families and friends.”
Honiton’s current mayor, Henry Brown, has also heralded the appointment of an Admiral Nurse for Honiton.
He says: “Dementia’s prevalence is growing, especially as we live longer than our parents and those before them.
“The isolation that must be felt by those who suffer and the strain it must put on relatives who provide care must be overwhelming.
“To have a specialised nurse who can help alleviate some of this weight is very welcome indeed. I applaud the fundraisers for making this a reality - it is these sorts of actions which make a community.”
While the campaign goal may have been achieved with time to spare, Heather has stressed that fundraising must continue - with £1,000 a week needed to keep the support in place for years to come.
She says: “Fundraising on this scale can only be successful if it is a shared effort and the people of Honiton lead the way in showing what a difference a community can make when it pulls together.
“When £1,000 a week is required, we are grateful for every penny so a donation of any size can also be made on line at www.justgiving.com/honitonadmiralnurse”
To read more features from East Devon Resident, click on here.
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