A TEENAGER is organising a charity event to raise awareness and funds for the Alzheimer's Society after several members of her family suffered from early-onset dementia.
Danielle Blunt, 18, of Allendale Avenue in Aspley, has arranged the event at the Aspley Youth and Family Centre, at Melbourne Park, on July 28 from 11am to 1pm.
Miss Blunt's aunt, grandfather, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather, all on her mother Andrea's side of the family, have all had early-onset Alzheimer's disease.
Miss Blunt, who works at the Rocking Horse Day Nursery, in Bulwell, said: "One night I was just browsing through the society website and I thought I could do an event of my own.
"What I really want to do with this event is raise awareness about early-onset Alzheimer's because a lot of people think when you've got Alzheimer's it's an old people thing."
The fun day will feature face painters, nail painting, and several stalls selling things like craftwork, cupcakes and sweets, and attendees are asked to make a small donation of their choosing at the door.
Lisha Goodman, owner of the Oh So Sweet Candy Cart, will be at the event and donating her proceeds to Miss Blunt's funds for the Alzheimer's Society.
She said: "We like doing the charity events – anything to do with charity I will do my best for.
"My mum's worked most of her working life for the Jack Dawe team, a social services team that works with dementia, so I was quite happy to get in on this one."
Early-onset Alzheimer's disease is the term used for cases of Alzheimer's which occur before the age of 65, a small portion of which are 'familial Alzheimer's disease', which is inherited.
Danielle's mother Andrea says that tests confirmed that the family has the gene, saying: "My sister got diagnosed when she was just 38 and we got told we had a genetic form of Alzheimer's prevalent in the family."
She added: "Danielle's done this all off her own back and I've not been allowed to get involved, and it looks like it's going to be a little bit bigger than what she thought it was going to be."
The Alzheimer's Society runs a number of services in Nottingham, including some particularly designed for working age people with the condition; for more information, call 0115 934 3800.
For more information about the event, visit the Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/FundraisingForAlzhimersSociety?ref=ts&fref=ts.
