More than 200 guests attended the Dementia UK: A Night to Remember evening at Welford Road supporting the campaign to get the first community-based Admiral Nurse for Leicestershire.
Dementia UK Leicestershire is one of the club’s official charities for the 2018/19 season and hosted a dinner at Welford Road to increase awareness of the charity, raise funds for the campaign and thank the community groups.
Admiral Nurses are specialist nurses, who work with families where there is a diagnosis of dementia and the evening's guests raised more than £7,000 on the night.
Tigers players Tommy Reffell and Thom Smith joined local dignitaries in attendance such as the Lord and Lady Mayoress of Leicestershire, Oliver Hemsley, the leader of Rutland County Council and Brenda Seaton, the Deputy Mayor of Charnwood.
Reffell and Smith took part in a Q&A session looking at their Tigers memories, following a keynote address from Dr Hilda Hayo, the CEO and Chief Admiral Nurse of Dementia UK, and Paul Edwards, Director of Clinical Services for Dementia UK.
Former Tigers fly-half and BBC Radio Leicester commentator Bleddyn Jones, who played 333 times for Tigers, also featured in a video interviewing Tigers coach Brett Deacon and scrum-half Sam Harrison.
The video also featured Bleddyn’s chat with season ticket holders of 20 years, Bob & Lindsay Stoddart-Mudge, a family who Dementia UK is working with to support the diagnosis of dementia, through the Admiral Nursing service.
Linda Thompson, treasurer of the Dementia UK Leicestershire Fundraising Group, said: “The campaign has already resulted in the appointment of the Admiral Nurse at LOROS as well as the confirmation that another will commence work with University Hospitals Leicester at the beginning of April.”
“Discussions are also under way regarding the appointment of an Admiral Nurse in a primary care capacity within Charnwood. I’d like to thanks Leicester Tigers for having us as well as special guests for the evening including Jo Kavanagh, as Director of Patient Services at LOROS, along with Cathy Knight, their newly appointed Admiral Nurse.”
Find out more about Leicester Tigers official charities for the 2018/19 season at the link below.
