Inspired by a moment of synchronicity on the touchline, we’re proud to present our charity of the year and latest football sponsorships for 2019.
We’re football crazy…
If you've ever stood next to Rita or Anne alongside a football pitch, you’ll know they are both passionate (and vocal) about their footie! Over the past few years, LGFL Ltd have supported various youth teams’ football shirts. This year that sponsorship continues for the Reading United boys Under 12’s team shirts (go the Biscuit Boys!). LGFL have also just started sponsoring the Reading School boys Under 12s team.
Both teams have already enjoyed some impressive successes:
- Reading United won the Autumn League and secured the League Cup in an exciting penalty shoot out. The final was played at the Oxford City stadium and the team were presented with the League Cup at a local derby game between Oxford United and Oxford City.
- The Reading School team have just started working together, and got through to the quarter finals of the County Cup, when they were knocked out.
Choosing to support the Alzheimer’s Society
When we discovered that the Reading School senior team’s shirts were provided in partnership with Alzheimer’s Society, we were inspired to investigate the work of this much-respected charity further.
Alzheimer’s Society is the only UK charity that has a three pronged approach to helping those with dementia:
- Support - helping those diagnosed with and living with dementia
- Society - campaigning for a future which is dementia free
- Research - funding research into cure, care and prevention
We much admired this holistic and practical approach, which is much along the lines of our approach to family law issues. So it was a simple decision for us to make Alzheimer’s Society our main “Acts of Kindness” charity for 2019.
The difference between dementia and Alzheimer’s
Like many, we were not entirely sure of the difference between Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
- Dementia is a general term for conditions and diseases that affect the brain and cognitive functions such as memory, thinking, problem solving and perception. The most common cause of dementia in the UK is Alzheimer’s disease.
- Alzheimer’s disease causes the creation and build up of unusual structures in the brain known as ‘plaques’ or ‘tangles’. These structures affect how the nerve cells in your brain work, and block their ability to communicate. Eventually, the nerve cells die. Combined with the reduction of chemicals that help relay message around the brain, the result is gradual memory loss and subsequent difficulties with loss of memory, communication and general orientation.
Despite its name, the Alzheimer’s Society supports people with any type of dementia, including vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, and mixed dementia.
Dementia in the UK
The figures around dementia in the UK can initially look somewhat scary:
- dementia is the UK’s biggest killer disease
- someone develops dementia every 3 minutes
- by 2021, 1 million people will be living with dementia
However, it’s that last statistic that makes the work of the Society so important and so worth supporting - living with dementia. As a society we need to find ways to support those with dementia to live their lives, including a better awareness and understanding of those with any form of dementia.
LGFL’s support for the fight against dementia
We are both proud to support this worthy cause throughout 2019, via a variety of fundraising events. We’ve already started with dress-down Fridays, where the team can wear casual clothes (and shoes) in our Swallowfield office. (Needless to say if we’re in Reading Family Court on a Friday, the jeans and trainers stay in the wardrobe!)
For more information see: