The Forget-Me-Not Dementia Campaign has been guaranteed the backing of two local Sainsbury’s stores over the coming year.

Customers at supermarkets in Bury St Edmunds and Mildenhall were able to vote online and in-store for the causes they would like to see supported, and staff picked the Forget-Me-Not appeal from a short list of three charities.

The campaign is being run by West Suffolk Hospital in conjunction with the East Anglian Daily Times and its sister paper, The Mercury, to raise money to enhance facilities for dementia patients while they are on the hospital’s acute wards.

The aim is to raise £25,000 to further improve the support and care provided to patients and their families.

Money raised will go towards a memory walk to provide a calm and comforting area for patients with dementia, and it will purchase reminiscence materials and help kit out a day room.

It is the sixth year of Sainsbury’s ‘Local Charity’ partner scheme, which has raised more than £6million for local good causes since 2009.

In the past, the Bury and Mildenhall stores have raised £1,385 for the Crack On Foundation and £4,321 for Age UK.

Staff at the two stores will also be fundraising for the Forget-Me-Not campaign by holding various events through the coming year.

Their support will be very welcome, said the hospital’s fundraising manager, Dave Gooderham.

He added: “We would like to thank all the customers and staff members at both Sainsburys Bury and Sainsbury’s Mildenhall who voted for the Forget-Me-Not Dementia Campaign.

“These partnerships will help us raise awareness of the excellent work staff are doing inside the hospital for patients with dementia.

“But it will also help us in our aim of getting more people taking about dementia and understanding it.

“We have some exciting plans for both stores and we can’t wait to start working with customers and employees to help make a real difference in our community.”

Mildenhall store manager Alan Bedwell said: “We’ve had a great response from our customers this year, both through in-store and online votes. We’re delighted to have chosen a charity which touched many of our colleagues’ hearts. We will now be working closely with the charity to ensure they really benefit from being our local charity for the next 12 months.”

Customers had a huge say in this year’s chosen charity and voted in-store and online between May 28 and June 8. The store colleagues then decided that the Forget-Me-Not Dementia Campaign was the best charity for them to work with to make a real difference.

Individuals and organisations can follow Sainsbury’s lead by donating online at www.justgiving.com/forgetmenotcampaign or in person at any of The East Anglian Daily Times offices. Cheques should be made payable to Archant and marked on the back “Forget-Me-Not Appeal” and sent to The Bury St Edmunds Mercury, 11 Woolhall Street, Bury St Edmunds, IP32 1LA. Anyone who would like to know more about the campaign and how they can help can call Dave Gooderham on 01284 712952 or via email at dave.gooderham@wsh.nhs.uk