Sutton and Huthwaite play centre owners raise money for dementia services at King's Mill Hospital and Eastwood

Janine Ryde and Christopher Buck, co-owners of Funtimez at Jimmy Beans play centre on Coxmoor Road, Sutton, were joined by staff to celebrate their fundraising efforts at the centre.

Janine, from Jacksdale, and Christopher, from Heanor, also run Funtimez at Bizzy Beans, at the John Davies Workshops, in Huthwaite.

Both centres have been involved with fundraising efforts, as £2,600 will be split between the dementia ward at King’s Mill Hospital in Sutton and Eastwood Memory Café.

Fundraising began during the coronavirus lockdown in 2020 and has continued from there – the play centres have sold more than 4,000 tickets since efforts began.

Janine said: “We are raising money for dementia essentially, as it is a cause close to our hearts – £1,300 will go towards each cause.

“We chose to do this as my grandfather died of dementia and Chris, my business partner, has a mother who suffers from dementia.

“The memory café at Eastwood supports families affected by dementia, so Chris’s dad has a support group through the memory café.

“This means a lot to us both.

“It was all carried out with a gambling licence and we stated on the tickets all money raised, minus costs, would be donated.

“That is the result of more than 4,000 tickets.

“The original set up was to raise money for the dementia ward at King’s Mill, but when we restarted fundraising efforts, we then started raising money for the memory cafe too.”