ELDERLY residents of a supported living home in Wellington have put their worries to one side and continued to raise money for local and national charities despite a threat of closure hanging over them.

The Abbeyfield Society wants to close and sell-off Ivy House, in Corams Lane, because it cannot afford to maintain the property.

Abbeyfield began closure consultation last summer, but regardless of the threat to their futures, residents carried on with fund-raising activities which they estimate totalled more than £4,000.

Now, a large event is being planned for next week, which is Dementia Action Week, to support the Alzheimer’s Society.

A jumbo coffee morning will be held on May 16, which as many people as possible are being encouraged to support.

The following day, 85-year-old Brian Standring, an Ivy House resident for seven years, will jump out of an aeroplane at 15,000 feet to raise more money for the dementia charity.

Mr Standring hopes to raise £1,500 from a tandem skydive over Dunkeswell Aerodrome, his second jump in seven years.

He said: “It is not something I do all the time, but I cannot walk anywhere to raise money these days so a skydive seemed quite a good option to raise some money.”

Mr Standring became an Alzheimer’s Society volunteer following a friend’s diagnosis in 2012 and for the past four years has been making weekly ‘companion’ telephone calls to people living with dementia.

Anybody who wants to support Mr Standring’s skydive fund-raising can find his online appeal here.