Nino’s Pangbourne raises over £9,000 for Alzheimer’s Society

A Pangbourne restaurateur has raised £9,027 for the Alzheimer’s Society.

Nino Bartolomei, owner of Nino’s Trattoria Italiana Pangbourne, and restaurant manager Molly Gabriel raised the vital funds in memory of her grandmother, who was diagnosed with the disease in 2017.

Miss Gabriel was one of 7,500 runners running Reading’s annual half marathon run on Sunday (March 23), alongside her boss.

She said: “My nan was one of the closest people in my life.

“My mother and I became her full-time carers. We saw her slowly decline and become a shell of the woman she once was.”

Her grandmother died on January 25, 2022.

Miss Gabriel continued: “But for me, the first time she died was when she could no longer dress herself. I had to learn to slowly grieve someone who was still alive.

“Training for this half marathon has been incredibly challenging for me. But I know my nan’s looking down on me.”

Mr Bartolomei added: “We decided to host a three-course dinner, whereby all ticket sales would go straight to the charity.

“Huge well done to Molly to taking on the challenge.”

They raised more than £6,000 with dinner alone which, combined with Miss Gabriel’s sponsorship, helped them raise their grand total.

Alzheimer’s Society regional fundraiser Georgia Thornton said: “It’s wonderful that Nino and Molly gave their time.

“There are over 101,590 people living with dementia in the South West.

“Each hour people generously give to fundraise for us, they’re making a life-changing difference to people living with dementia.”

Alzheimer’s Society and Nino’s Pangbourne thank Haslams Estate agents for its sponsoring the charity dinner.