This year marks 15 years since The Lewy Body Society was founded, and we’ve updated our logo to mark this milestone. We’ll be using the anniversary as a focus for our work this year, as we look ahead to the future, develop new plans and focus on our mission of ‘shining a light on Lewy body dementia’.  We hope that celebration events might even be possible once once lockdown is over.

We were set up in 2006 by our Chair Ashley Bayston, whose mum had Lewy body dementia, after she discovered there was no specific charity that focused on the disease. We were the first in Europe and remain the only UK charity that works exclusively on Lewy body dementia.

Our remit is still the same – to raise awareness of Lewy body dementia among the medical professions, policymakers and the general public, and to fund research to help with its diagnosis and treatment.  We have grown in income, impact and influence during this time but we remain a small organisation led by our Chief Executive Jacqui Cannon and the trustees.

We think we’ve come a long way in 15 years and will be publishing an impact report soon that will chart this progress and the difference we think we’ve made. But we still hear every week from people living with Lewy body dementia, or those supporting a family member with the disease, who are struggling. A delay in receiving a diagnosis, a lack of treatment options and access to specialist support services, and feeling like they are the only family facing this battle are the most common themes.  More research, publicity and awareness raising will help us end this distress.

None of this would be possible without you, our supporters. You encourage us, fundraise for us and amplify our voice many times over.  Thank you.