Bracknell & District Parkinson’s Branch’s fundraising for 2026 got off to a great start recently when it received the sum of £4,230 from Sarla Read of Sonning Golf Club.

Sarla was the Lady Captain at Sonning Golf Club in 2025 and chose the Bracknell Parkinson’s Branch as her charity of the year and raised this magnificent sum from a number of activities including various raffles and a race night.

Will Hague, Secretary of Bracknell & District Parkinson’s Branch, said, “On behalf of the Branch, I would like to thank Sarla for this magnificent sum and for all her efforts last year in arranging the fundraising events which helped to achieve this. The monies will be used to help subsidise activities for our members which help to alleviate their condition of Parkinson’s.”

Sarla said, “I was delighted to support such a good cause.”

Photo Caption: Will presenting Sarla with a commemorative certificate to mark her donation.

The Bracknell & District Parkinson’s Branch recently had a very successful collection at Waitrose, Bracknell. We raised the magnificent  sum of £454 as well as raising much awareness of the work of our Branch and Parkinson’s UK.

Fundraising activities such as this enable us to subsidise the services we provide for our members and also to support the aims of Parkinson’s UK.

We would like to thank Waitrose, Bracknell, and in particular, Lucinda Saywell, Community Matters Activator, for making us so welcome on the day and for allowing us to fundraise in their busy store.  Our thanks must also go to everyone who generously donated money to us and to the Branch members who volunteered to help with the collection during the day.

Photo caption: Will Hague, Branch Secretary with the Branch stand.

The Branch recently had a successful day at the Windlesham Fete with the amount of £263 raised and promotion of our Branch and its activities to the hundreds of people who attended the event.

Many of the articles on display on the stall were made by Branch members in the weeks leading up to the event and included various craft creations based on a Parkinson’s theme.

Thanks go to Wendy for arranging the stall and to her team of helpers who assisted on the day including her grandson Daniel, Pat, Cindy, Sheena, and Betty.

Photo caption:  Daniel manning the stall dressed up in a poncho he had just bought at the Fete!

The Branch had a successful collection at Longacres Garden Centre, in Bagshot, on Saturday 10th May. We raised the impressive sum of £365 as well as raising much awareness of the work of our Branch and Parkinson’s UK and dealing with many enquiries from interested parties.

Fund-raising activities such as this enable us to subsidise the services we provide for our members and also to support the aims of Parkinson’s UK.

Our thanks to everyone who generously donated money to us and also thanks to the Branch members who were involved during the day.

Bracknell & District Parkinson’s Branch recently enjoyed a successful day’s fundraising and raising awareness of the Branch and its activities.

The splendid sum of £300 was raised at the Windlesham Village Fete by holding a bric-a-brac stall which included craft items made by people with Parkinson’s or their carers, ranging from pottery, cards, knitted items, cushions and some jewellery.  Generous donations were also given and so a final total of £300 was achieved.

In addition to the fundraising, the event raised awareness of the Bracknell & District Branch and the services it provides.

Special thanks must go to Wendy for all the preparation, setting up, and packing away that she did and also to the other members, including her grandson, who kindly volunteered their services on the day!

Photo caption: the Branch’s stall with Wendy, right, Cindy, left, and grandson Daniel

The Branch had some great fundraising news recently when it received two wonderful grants of £5,000 each. The first was a £5,000 grant from Berkshire Community Foundation and the second was a donation of £5,000 from local company FDD International Ltd.

Nathan Love, Branch Chair, commented, “We are extremely grateful to the Berkshire Community Foundation and FDD for these grants which will help us to continue to provide a range of services for our members. Research by Parkinson’s UK shows that the two best ways of treating the symptoms of Parkinson’s are through exercise and medication and so the continuing provision of these activities and services will be of great benefit to our members.”