Exeter Dementia Action Alliance to Close after 11 Remarkable Years

A Message from founder Gina Awad BEM and the board

With the full understanding of our board, I am sharing the news that the Exeter Dementia Action Alliance (EDAA) will formally close at the end of December 2025.

This is not an easy message for me to share. The Alliance has been a massive, life-defining chapter of my heart and soul. F

or 11 years, I have lived and breathed this work every single day. It has shaped who I am and the way I see the world.

When I founded the Alliance in 2014, it was born from a deep need to create a community that truly sees and supports people living with dementia and their families, not in policy or words, but in everyday kindness and understanding. What began as a small, hopeful spark grew into something extraordinary, powered by the people who believed in this mission as much as I did.

Together, we have delivered over 500 dementia information sessions in schools, shops, care homes, GP surgeries, businesses, and community spaces reaching thousands across the city.

We created art projects, memory sharing events, and awareness campaigns that touched people across the country and even beyond.

A cartoon by Tony Husband, marking Dementia Action Week 2018.

Some of our most cherished work was made in partnership like the six powerful years I spent working with the late cartoonist Tony Husband, whose humour and kindness brought dementia awareness into people’s homes in a completely unique way. Our calendars found homes all around the world.

In 2018, I received a British Empire Medal for my services to people with dementia in Devon and we were honoured to be named the Lord Mayor’s Charity of the Year in 2022, but the most meaningful recognition has always been the words shared by people living with dementia and their families: “Thank you for seeing us”.

Receiving the British Empire Medal from the Lord Lieutenant of Devon.

Former County and City Councillor Emma Morse said: “I have had the pleasure of working with Gina both professionally and personally.

"I lost both my grandmother and father to dementia, and Gina first met me while my grandmother was ill and my dad was pre-diagnosis.

"I attended her session on supporting people living with dementia and found her gentle yet no-nonsense approach incredibly helpful.  The skills I learned have stayed with me and continue to guide me when I meet people living with dementia.

"Gina inspired me to do more to help those living with dementia in the city.  She was instrumental in making the City Council more dementia-friendly, helping run a task and finish group that trained staff, appointed dementia champions and adjusted signage and furniture to reduce confusion.

"Her training not only made it easier for me to care for my loved ones but also reminded me that it’s human and normal to find it hard.

"When the Lord Mayor chose the Dementia Alliance as her charity, it was a joy to return the favour.

"Gina’s energy and commitment pulled us all together to make fundraising and events happen, without her drive, none of it would have been possible."

This work has never been mine alone. It belongs to everyone who walked beside me:

• The passionate board who stood by and supported me
• The funders and partners who believed in our work
• The community members and volunteers who showed up and gave what they could
• The people living with dementia and care partners who trusted us with their stories
• The schools, businesses, and organisations who chose to become more understanding

Another of the late Tony Husband's cartoons.

Neil Sandy, Trustee of GivingWorks, said: “Gina and her team of supporters have provided many years of generous heartfelt community support and vital information to help build understanding.

"All of us will at sometime in our lives encounter dementia in our loved ones, our neighbourhood and potentially ourselves.

"Building education and support service professionalism takes true grit and passion attribute Gina has in spades.

"Gina’s foundation is coming to a close; the Trustees at GivingWorks have been delighted to support Gina’s driving progress for the last few years; we know that Gina’s work will live on in the people she has met and worked with for years to come and we wish  Gina the very best as she enters this next phase of her life - bravo Gina!”

 This journey has been filled with moments of joy, challenge, heartbreak, and hope. It’s been a labour of love, sustained by the trust of people living with dementia and their families who shared their stories with me, and by the unwavering support of our board, funders, partners, friends and the wider community.

We also want to honour the many organisations and individuals across Exeter who continue to provide brilliant, compassionate care and support. There is a rich and growing tapestry of dementia accessible initiatives in our city, and it fills me with hope to know this work will continue.

Geoffrey Cox, Managing Director of Southern Healthcare and alliance board member said “It has been a privilege to support EDAA and Gina over the past 11 years. Gina has worked tirelessly to raise awareness but also to fully contribute to people living with a dementia in a meaningful way. In many ways the legacy of Gina’s work at EDAA will live on and we will support that in every way we can”

While this chapter of the Alliance closes in December, my commitment remains steadfast. I will continue to host my voluntary radio show, Living Better with Dementia and my Dementia Consultancy & Advocacy work where I will carry forward the compassion and presence that has guided me through this work.

The Exeter COSY Routes project, created by board member Jo Earlam in 2020, will continue. Jo, who cares for her husband John, living with dementia, said: “The COSY website still attracts many visitors and route downloads. It’s been a great way to raise awareness about dementia through the COSY challenge, baton relay, and walks, and there’s more to come from this wellbeing initiative.”

This is not an end but a turning of the page, with deep gratitude, love and the knowledge that the connections we have built will carry on far beyond this moment.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has walked this journey with us.

With warmth,

Gina Awad BEM & the board of the Exeter Dementia Action Alliance

Dementia Consultant, Advocate, Author & Founder Exeter Dementia Action Alliance

ginasfreespirit@yahoo.co.uk