Visual arts charity Aspex Portsmouth is delighted to announce they have successfully raised £13,118 through their recent Crowdfunder campaign and fundraising activities, helping to secure the immediate future of the beloved Generate dementia arts programme.
Aspex’s ‘Donate For Generate’ crowdfunding campaign received pledges from an impressive 97 members of the public for over 50% of its target. The arts charity also hosted a separate community fundraising event at its vibrant arts space in Gunwharf Quays, with a total of £1,113 raised through donations from the public and attendees.
Anne Scowen, who cares for her husband and attends Generate told us why she wanted to support the campaign, “Generate is a very special creative sanctuary for both my husband and myself. I can feel my heart rate lower when Abi and Roy greet us and my husband sits at the easel.”
In addition to fundraising efforts, an extremely generous £5,000 donation and two-year programme sponsorship from Rob, whose wife Jo attended the Generate sessions, was secured to take the campaign over its £10,000 target.
Rob explained why he wanted to support the programme, “My wife Jo was diagnosed with Posterior Cortical Atrophy, a rare and aggressive form of dementia at just 52, with the consultant estimating that by the time of her diagnosis she’d been living with dementia for 4 years. At this time, there were very few places we could go to get support which weren’t focused on an older age group. Generate, however, was inclusive. The encouragement and praise Jo received from Abi and Roy did wonders for her self esteem at an incredibly difficult time in her life. Jo is sadly no longer able to participate but the paintings she created are priceless to me. The donation we’ve made, in Jo’s name, reflects the value we’ve placed on her participation”.
On reaching this milestone, Joanne Bushnell, Director of Aspex Portsmouth said, “We are thrilled to have received such fantastic support for this project, which reflects its value to the artist participants, carers and the wider community. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t been touched personally by dementia in some way, so we are delighted to have secured enough support to maintain the programme for a further year, while our fundraising efforts continue to secure support for the longer term.”
Although the crowdfunding campaign has ended, the fundraising effort continues and there are still opportunities to get involved and support the programme. People who want to support the campaign but missed out can still make a donation to Generate via the online donation page. The charity is also offering a sponsorship opportunity for individuals, organisations and businesses.
The team at Aspex Portsmouth would like to express their gratitude to everyone who has donated and supported the ‘Donate For Generate’ campaign, and played a huge role in securing the future of the Generate project.
