Angela Rippon ‘Humbled’ By CBE In New Year’s Honours List
Alzheimer’s Society Ambassador Angela Rippon has been awarded a CBE for services to dementia care in the New Year’s Honours list.
Angela has been inspired to help the 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK by her own experiences of caring for her mother Edna, who was diagnosed with dementia in 2004 and sadly died in 2009.
The broadcaster, journalist and presenter is a dedicated supporter of Alzheimer’s Society and became an official Ambassador of the charity in 2009.
Angela co-chairs The Prime Minister’s Champion Group on Dementia Friendly Communities, alongside Alzheimer’s Society Chief Executive Jeremy Hughes, which focuses on improving inclusion and quality of life for people living with dementia.
Now some 28 million people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland live in almost 220 Dementia Friendly Communities. The recent 2016 Dementia Friendly Awards, which Angela hosted, showcased the outstanding achievements of the initiative – ranging from the airport industry improving travel for people with dementia to Dementia Friendly football clubs helping football fans with dementia continue to enjoy their favourite past-time.
Angela has also backed Alzheimer’s Society’s flagship fundraising campaign, Memory Walk and supported the Counting the Cost campaign, which aimed to improve the quality of care for people with dementia on hospital wards
On receiving the New Year Honours, Angela said:
‘This award is such a huge honour. It’s also confirmation that all the hard work that’s been done by thousands of Alzheimer’s Society volunteers all over the country is really making a difference to the lives of those individuals and families who are living with dementia.’
‘No one who volunteers for any charity ever does so in the expectation that they will receive any kind of honour or recognition. We do it to put something back into our communities, and hopefully to make a difference.’
‘So I am humbled and privileged to think that the team with whom I work on the Prime Minister’s committee to create Dementia Friendly Communities nationwide feel that I have – in some small way – made a difference – and will continue to do so.’
Alzheimer’s Society Chief Executive Jeremy Hughes said:
‘Angela is a tireless Ambassador for Alzheimer’s Society. On television and face-to-face she inspires millions to understand dementia better and support some of the most disadvantaged in society today. It is much-deserved recognition.’
