Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer’s Research UK have been named by Virgin Money Giving as its charity of the year partners for the 2019 London Marathon.
The announcement made today is part of a year-long joint-campaign being run by both dementia charities called Dementia Revolution. According to the joint press release, the campaign “aims to overthrow old attitude to dementia and raise millions of pounds” for the UK Dementia Research Institute, which was founded in 2016.
The two charities combined are aiming to raise over £3.5m at next year’s iteration of the London Marathon. By combining their resources, they are also hoping to build a team of more than 2,000 runners for the marathon.
This year's iteration of the marathon was run last weekend, and over £45m was raised through digital giving platforms on the day of the event. Runners and fundraisers have so far raised over £1.3m for the Teenage Cancer Trust, the official charity of the year for the 2018 marathon.
Jeremy Hughes, chief executive at Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Sadly today, one in three of us will have a close family member or friend who has dementia. For too long people with dementia have been overlooked and forgotten but this special year will help us to bring dementia out of the shadows.
“As Charity of the Year for the 2019 Virgin Money London Marathon we have a unique opportunity to inspire action now and raise vital funds for research. We hope that everyone will stand with us, join the Dementia Revolution and change the lives of people with dementia.”
Hilary Evans, chief executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “The Virgin Money London Marathon is a globally iconic event that brings people together to be a force for good. This year, we’re proud to be joining forces with Alzheimer’s Society to create a groundswell of support for the researchers who are working tirelessly to tackle the condition and transform lives.
“The UK Dementia Research Institute is all about collaboration and teamwork to power breakthroughs and we’re excited to get recruiting our largest ever team of runners to raise millions to help them make progress faster.”
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