Staff members from Rose Lodge care home and their families were among the 5000 people taking part in a record breaking memory walk for the Alzheimers Society on Saturday 8th October. The South Shields-based 7km coastal walk, which will raise thousands of pounds for the Alzheimer’s Society, has grown in popularity year-on- year and saw almost double the number of participants than last year’s recordbreaking event, making it the region’s largest event of its kind. Those taking part did so to help raise awareness and funds for UK charity group The Alzheimers Society, or to pay tribute to friends or loved ones who have battled the condition and those living with it today. Participating staff from the Rose Lodge, which offers residential care to the elderly including specialist care for people living with dementia, raised £178 to support the dementia charity. The home also held a memory café for residents and guests to raise additional funds and awareness for the charity group. Alzheimer’s Society research shows 850,000 people in the UK have a form of dementia, around 35,000 of them in the North East. In less than 10 years a million people will be living with the condition – and this will increase to two million by 2051. Nicola Wheatley, Home Manager of Rose Lodge who also took part in the walk, Said: “The atmosphere on the day was fantastic and we had a great time taking part in the memory walk. The number of people affected by dementia is increasing each year so it’s very rewarding to know that the money raised will go towards funding support services and research into the condition. Many of our residents are living with dementia and some of our residents and staff members have loved ones who are living with the condition so we thought that taking part in the memory walk was a great way to pay tribute to them whilst championing a very worthwhile cause.”