A Northampton man who feels passionately about improving dementia care in the town has entered his home into a ‘Win a House’ competition to raise funds for a new support centre.
Marty Pumbien opened the competition to scoop his four bedroom town house at the property, which is located across the road from Abington Park in Northampton.
Each competition entry is £5 and people who are interested can enter as many times as they wish.
Marty and his partner Annie hope to sell the maximum number of 500,000 tickets. Part of the proceeds from the competition will help fund the UnityDEM centre, co-run by the University of Northampton.
The competition will run until midnight on Sunday 14 October and is backed by leading online estate agent Emoov.
Marty and his partner Annie are both nurses by profession experienced in working with people with dementia. Knowing that the need for dementia care is on the increase, both felt that the UnityDEM initiative could go some way to supporting the enhancement of existing services and support new innovation in the area, especially in the early stages of the disease where social support is so critical.
This led to the idea of the house prize competition as a way of funding UnityDEM, something they believe provides vital support for Northampton people who have recently had a diagnosis of dementia.
Opened last month, UnityDEM is a ‘one stop shop’ for care, information, training and guidance for people who have just been diagnosed with dementia. Crucially, their carers have access to the same support at the same time.
Marty says: “My partner Annie and I are both nurses and have first-hand experience of helping people who have dementia, either on the wards or during home visits. Funds from this venture will go some way to supporting vital work in the care of people with dementia.
“If all 500,000 tickets are sold, we will raise over £1.3 million to provide support to people with dementia. Some of this fantastic total will come from the Northamptonshire Community Foundation that has generously agreed to match every pound we raise. I can’t thank the Community Foundation enough.
“Putting your home up as the prize in a ‘Win a House’ competition may seem like a crazy idea, but it is the right decision and we hope to raise money to help fund dementia care services including the ‘UnityDEM’ centre.”
Professor Simon Denny, executive dean of research, impact and enterprise at the University of Northampton, adds: “We’re incredibly grateful to Marty and Annie for their generosity in putting their house into this competition, which should reap dividends for the people of Northampton in the years to come by supporting UnityDEM.”
