On Tuesday 26 May, Rachael Maskell, MP for York Central, met Gary Yeoman, a housing project manager, who is fundraising for the Alzheimer’s charity together with his cousin, Darren Gargan. Gary and Darren are aiming to raise £1,400 each as part of a sponsorship challenge which will see them cycling from London to Brussels for the charity.

In order to do the bike ride the two cousins have to raise £1,200 each by 1 July. As well as the cycle ride which takes place between 3 and 6 September, Gary and Darren are holding a number of fundraising events to raise the money which is needed.

Earlier this month Gary organised a quiz night in the Snickelway Inn in Goodramgate. So far he has raised £950 from this and from donations from friends and family. On 5 June there will also be a Pig Racing event and this will take place in St Clements Club, in South Bank.

Gary Yeoman says:
“When I was a teenager I remember helping my family to cope with my Granddad who had Alzheimer’s Disease. It was a horrible debilitating disease and I saw how granddad became increasingly forgetful until eventually he did not recognise members of the family.

“I like a challenge and the idea of raising money for Alzheimers appealed to me. I hope to raise as much money as I can in order to help people like my granddad. Raising money for charity can be fun and it helps that the cycle ride finishes up in Brussels at the time of the beer festival!”

Rachael Maskell says:
“If we are to provide excellent services for people with dementia we need to invest in funding now.

“York has just over 30,000 people aged over 65, and about 2,500 are known to have dementia. This number is expected to rise to nearly 4,000 by 2030 because there will be more over 65s in the city by then. The growing number of people with dementia places a huge demand on the NHS and on the council.

“Gary is making an amazing contribution to families across the city who may one day depend on the research his expedition will be funding, by cycling all the way from London to Brussels. I hope people will feel motivated to get behind him to support this initiative.”

Gary can be sponsored via his Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/Gary-Yeoman/