HEAD TEACHER of Scoill Vallajeelt Adrian Shorthouse, who ran the London Marathon for a cause close to his heart, has raised more than double his target.
Mr Shorthouse tackled his first marathon in memory of his mum, Elsie, who died after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
He completed the 26.2-mile route in just four hours and seven minutes.
He set out to raise £3,000 for Alzheimer’s Society Isle of Man but has collected £6,400 thanks to the generosity of family and friends, parents, children and staff at Scoill Vallajeelt, colleagues at the Department of Education and Children and members of the public, who put money into buckets, donated raffle prizes, held dress down days and gave concerts.
Mr Shorthouse, said: ‘I am hugely grateful for the many messages of support and kindness shown by the community. The generosity of people in the island has been amazing.’
Carol Frearson, Helen Fowden, Markè Railton, Jonathan Ayres, John Gill and Jo Overty were part of a fundraising team backing Adrian and raising money that will help Alzheimer’s Society to extend its services in the Isle of Man.
‘This has been very much a team effort,’ said Mr Shorthouse. ‘I can’t thank them enough for their time and dedication to the cause. This contribution will go a long way towards helping people in the island cope with this severe and debilitating disease.’
The Alzheimer’s Society plans to introduce specialised dementia services locally in the near future. It is predicted that by 2021, as many as 1,532 people in the island will have dementia.
Anne-Marie Cagliarini, Alzheimer’s Society locality manager for Merseyside and the Isle of Man, said the generosity of local people in raising funds and the tireless work of local trustees meant the charity would open an office offering specialised support and information to those living with dementia and their carers and families.
‘People will be able to drop in to speak with our outreach workers for specialised support and information to help all people live well with dementia,’ she said.
Support groups would be created in different parts of the island to make help and advice accessible to all, Anne-Marie added.
Fran D’Arcy, community fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Society, said: ‘We are extremely grateful to Adrian and his family, friends and colleagues for all the time and effort that they have put in to their fundraising for us.
‘Many congratulations to Adrian on completing the challenge and thank you to everyone who has supported him and helped him to exceed his fundraising target.’
