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Join a 24-hour walking marathon to help save dementia centre in Leominster

People are being urged to join a 24-hour walking marathon to help save dementia centre in Leominster.

Organisers are hoping as many people sign up to the charity fundraiser as possible – although they don’t have to walk for the full 24 hours if they don’t want to. The event in and around Leominster is being organised by Kemble at Home, a care company based in Hereford, to raise funds for The Friends of Leominster Meeting Centre and starts at 1pm on Tuesday, May 23.

The centre, which provides unique services and support for people with dementia, could close in August because the Alzheimer’s Society, which runs the centre, says there is no long-term statutory funding in place. Sandra Taylor, business and marketing manager at Kemble at Home, is urging people to join her on the walk to help raise funds to keep the centre open.

“I will be doing the whole 24-hour walk, but other people can join in for however long they want,” she said.
“We will start the walk at the Leominster Meeting Centre and finish it at the same place at 1pm the following day, where there will be a pop-up street party organised by the centre.
“The centre is a place where people with dementia can go and take part in various activities and feel they can be part of society.

“One of our biggest aims at Kemble at Home is to reduce loneliness with the people we care for, which is why it is so vital for places like the centre to stay open. “We want to raise a minimum £500 through the walk in a bid to keep the centre open after August when its funding is due to stop.”

The walk is circular for those wanting to walk for the full 24 hours, however, people can join it at any of the starting points they wish, with six individual walks taking place during the 24 hours.

The whole walk will be £20 a person but individual walks will be £5 per person.

The first walk, which is just under five miles, starts at the meeting centre in Coningsby Road at 1pm on May 23 and includes walking the dogs from Hereford & Worcester Animal Rescue Centre.
Walk two is due to start at 2.30pm at Hereford & Worcester Animal Rescue Centre and is a 13-mile route to the Riverside Inn at Aymestrey.
Walk three will start at The Riverside Inn at Aymestrey at 9pm, and will be a trip to meet the owls at the Small Breeds Farm and Owl Centre in Kington, a 13-mile trek due to finish at about 2am on May 24.

Then the intrepid hikers will head off on walk four to earn breakfast at Ye Olde Salutation Inn in Weobley, before starting walk five which will go from Ye Olde Salutation Inn to Canon Pye Church.
The final walk will go from the church back to Leominster Meeting Centre.

Sandra said she was looking forward to the challenge and wanted to thank everyone who was offering help.
“It’s going to be tough but I am sure with the support of people joining me along the way we will do it,” she said.
“I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has agreed to man the stop points and refreshments and so on during the marathon challenge, along with the people who have agreed to let us stop at their premises.
“I am hoping for lots of people to come along and either join us on the walk, or come to Leominster Meeting Centre at 1pm on May 23 to see us off, and then again at 1pm on May 24 to welcome us back!”

Anyone wishing to make a donation can visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Kemble24HourWalk and for more information about the walk itself, visit www.kembleathome.co.uk/24hour