Charity Bike Ride To Raise Money For Dementia UK and Cariad Defibrillators

The 16-strong team from Family Housing Association Wales and ASW Property Services Ltd teamed up to tackle a gruelling 60-mile cycle ride, on Friday 15th September, with a fundraising target of £1,000 for the two deserving causes.

The team set off at 8am from Hazel Court, located in Sketty Park, Swansea making their way to Bro Preseli in Crymych, Pembrokeshire, both Hazel Court and Bro Preseli are FHA Wales’ vibrant housing developments for over 55s.

The team decided to take on the challenge to raise money for the Welsh charity Cariad Defibrillators, after learning about their vital work, providing local schools and communities with defibrillators and life-saving training. To date, Cariad has supplied 500 defibrillators to schools, communities and CFR teams.

Jay Crouch, Older Persons Team Manager comments: “We hope the fundraising total will go towards fitting our sites with these life-saving defibrillators and will work with Cariad Defibrillators to ensure we are equipped with the knowledge of how to use it and potentially save lives.”

“We were given jerseys from Dementia UK and had fleet support and a medic from Cariad Defibrillators on the day to follow us all the way down. We also had our own fleet support van for the journey. We really looked forward to completing the challenge and to reaching our fundraising target for these two amazing causes.”

Chief executive of FHA Wales, Karen Dusgate, comments: “We encourage our staff to get involved in fundraising efforts; it builds a great sense of camaraderie as well as raising funds for worthy causes. We hold the Welsh Governments’ Corporate Health Standard Gold Award for our commitment to employee wellbeing, we are so proud of this and are always looking for new ways to promote and encourage healthy lifestyles and physical activity. This bike ride is a great example of that and we are very proud  of everyone who took part and completed the challenge.”

Anthony Hamilton-Shaw from Cariad Defibrillators comments: “We are delighted with the fundraising effort that FHA Wales and ASW Property services have committed to. Not only are they raising much-needed funds but they’re also raising awareness of this vital service. Around 8,000 people every year suffer a cardiac arrest outside of the hospital environment in Wales. At present the survival rate is just 3% so this fundraising will go towards supplying more defibrillators in public places. The team were fantastic and we are very grateful of their support..”

FHA Wales has a long-standing relationship with Dementia UK and has fundraised over £5,500 for them in the last 2 years. Dementia UK provides people living with dementia, and their families, vital support through their specialist admiral nurse service and helpline.