We still vividly remember the standing ovation that last year’s Kent Charity of the Year received as they walked up to the stage to accept their award. It was truly a memorable night for Alzheimer’s & Dementia Support Services (ADSS), as they won Kent Charity of the Year and secured the title of Disability Charity of the Year. Additionally, their trustee, Samuel Barton, was presented with the award of Trustee of the Year!
Entries are now open for our tenth anniversary year, and as we begin the celebrations, we spoke to Katie Antill, CEO of ADSS, to find out the impact winning these awards has had on this remarkable Kent-based charity.
For more updates and information on ADSS please visit their website
What was it like to win the 2024 Kent Charity Awards?
At ADSS, we are a brave and ambitious charity, but we always underplay our achievements, so we went to the awards, not expecting to win. There are so many amazing charities that you are up against. That night was inspiring, as we won three awards. Being celebrated as a charity by such prestigious awards and judges was an honour.
At the end of the night, it was truly humbling when other CEOs expressed that the awards were well-deserved and that there was no one else they would rather see win than us! We don’t do the work we do for awards, but we do work hard and care deeply, so to win not one but three awards felt like a fantastic recognition of our hard work and how far we have come as a charity.
Tell us about the impact of being an award-winning charity. Has it opened new doors for you, have you gained sponsors/funders?
Winning in the way we have done has helped us accelerate many of the things we know we need to do as part of our 2030 strategy for people affected by dementia. There is a success circle when you have bagged an unprecedented three awards. It makes the whole organisation feel more confident; we made sure we shared that by awarding everyone an additional day of holiday and making sure everyone felt part of the achievement, it was, after all a massive team effort.
The new organisational confidence has meant that we are attracting new interest in our organisation for our work, and more people want to fund you (as they feel confident in your work as you have won an award). We have had a record-breaking year in voluntary income and know that is due to the ripple effect of the awards.
How does ADSS cope with the increase of people from being diagnosed with Dementia?
Since 2020, we have seen the number of people we support increase fivefold. We expanded due to some large contracts for the NHS, but the demand grew even before that. We have also seen the complexity of the people we support increase. Dementia is the most feared condition for a reason, but we are passionate that with the proper support, people can live a good life with purpose and fun.
There is no magic ingredient to how we cope with this increased demand, but we do have a clear vision and strategy, an amazing Board that supports the whole team, an amazing team that is well-led and values-driven, and most of all, we use our experience and expertise to think every day about how we can make things better for people with dementia and their families.
What are your plans for the coming year?
We always have lots of plans. We are working hard on our strategy and will be looking at where there are gaps across the county and how we can fill them. Carers are our key priority, as they tell us repeatedly that they would love us to do more than focus on them.
We will also develop a new website and expand our fundraising capability. We also face some big external challenges, such as the NI increase and the difficulties all social care providers face with recruitment and funding.
Would you recommend the Kent Charity Awards to other charities?
We would recommend them. Apart from the ceremony being a thoroughly lovely affair, the whole process is easy, and the judges are lovely. It is a great way to force you to reflect on your achievements even if you aren’t shortlisted. For us, the awards will be looked back on in years to come as a pivotal moment in our going even further and being even more confident in helping people affected by dementia live the life they want.
Please click HERE if you would like to find out more about entering this year’s Kent Charity Awards!