A NEWPORT-BASED law firm has raised more than £15,000 for vital work being carried out by Alzheimer’s Research UK in Wales.

Convey Law's staff put in a sustained fundraising effort for the charity, including a walk from its offices on Stow Hill to the Dementia Research Institute in Cardiff.

A team of 10 walked the 11.5 miles into Cardiff, raising £550 for ARUK.

A further £15,000 was donated to the appeal from Convey Law from funds raised through the Conveyancing Foundation’s Charity Lotto.

The innovative Lotto was launched to help conveyancing, legal and property businesses raise charity funds through a voluntary donation at the end of a client’s transaction with the chance of winning £500 towards their fees.

The money raised will now support research into Alzheimer’s Disease at the Dementia Research Institute’s Wales Network Centre.

Convey Law is a key supporter of the charity which is dedicated to looking into causes, diagnosis, prevention, treatment and cure of the disease, which currently affects an estimated 944,000 people in the UK.

Members of staff at Convey Law were also given an orange kit to wear to support awareness of Alzheimer’s Research’s #ShareTheOrange campaign.

An orange represents the weight loss of the brain of a person affected by Alzheimer’s, which is a loss of 140g, said Jade Morgan, Conveyancing Foundation charity co-ordinator.

She said: “By taking part in the very simple but effective #ShareTheOrange campaign, we wanted staff to stop for a few moments and consider exactly what Alzheimer’s does to the brain and why it is so crucial that we try and support research into the disease.”

Convey Law managing director Lloyd Davies, who took part in the charity walk, said he was keen for the funds to be used to support vital projects and research being undertaken in Wales, where the Convey Group is based.

He said: “The money will help the charity to continue their invaluable work. I think we all know someone who has been touched in some way by this devastating disease and, as a company, we were keen to support Alzheimer Research’s ongoing research.

“We are very grateful to our customers who have helped us to raise these funds and to our team who have supported this fundraising.”

Alzheimer’s Research UK regional fundraising officer Ceri Smith said: “The money raised will now support a two year £90k dementia project at the Wales Network Centre where PhD students from Cardiff, Swansea and Bangor Universities have joined together to undertake vital research.

“These PhD students are doing incredible research whilst working towards important projects as part of their studies and finding answers. They are the next generation of researchers into dementia and play a vital role in making breakthroughs possible.

“We are extremely grateful to the staff at Convey Law and the Conveyancing Foundation for supporting and promoting our work and helping to make this vital dementia project a reality.”