Helen Brunsdon and Susan Davies held a Christmas craft fair in Llandaff North to raise money after their loved ones passed away with dementia
Two life-long friends raised £545.50 in memory of loved ones who passed away with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease by holding a Christmas craft fair in Llandaff North Community Centre.
Helen Brunsdon and Susan Davies, both 54, used their craft hobby to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society.
Helen, of the St Mellons area of Cardiff, lost her brother David to dementia last year.
David, who was 56 when he passed away, “was involved in so much before the illness took him”, Susan said.
Susan’s mother, Anne Tuesley, passed away earlier this year at the age of 82.
“Mum was 82 so it was almost expected, but David was a hell of a shock as he was only in his 50s.”
The two friends wanted to do something after both being affected by Alzheimer’s disease.
“I said ‘what can we do?’ and we said ‘okay, we’ll organise a craft fair’,” Susan said.
She continued: “So we just thought we can do something and we’ve been fortunate today, haven’t we? We’ve been really lucky. People have been really supportive.”
Both Helen and Susan were pleased with how the community has rallied around them for the fundraising. Many of their friends and family were supporting them at the fair.
Susan said: “I’ve got to be fair, everybody has been really supportive.
“We were lucky, we’ve had loads of volunteers to do the teas and coffees.”
When Helen and Susan’s lives became affected by the disease, they realised how many other people they knew had been affected by Alzheimer’s in some way.
“We both realised how many people we knew that had been affected,” Susan said.
Helen commented: “It’s surprising how many people it actually does affect.”
The two friends believe that it would make a difference if people helped in small ways.
Susan commented: “The more aware people are, the more likely they are to contribute and hopefully some day they’ll be able to do something about it. If five of us did it and we all raised £200, that’s £1,000.”
The money raised from items such as teas, sweets and raffle tickets will all be donated to the Alzheimer’s Society.
The sale of some craft items also counted towards the total donation amount.
Helen made bracelets with beads to spell out the word ‘remember’ in morse code.
Any money made from these bracelets will also be donated along with money raised from the sale of Christmas cards.
The craft fair had traders from around Cardiff selling items such as homemade jewellery, felt items and artwork.
The Alzheimer’s Society were supportive of Helen and Susan’s idea for the craft fair.
Susan Said: “Alzheimer’s Society have assisted us as well. We reached out to them and they sent us collection boxes.
“The lady from Alzheimer’s Society rang me yesterday to wish us luck and stuff.
“In all fairness, everybody’s been really helpful.”
