An artistic student has helped boost a dementia charity.
Sangeeta Kumari, 22, won a competition to come up with a design for a coffee cup organised by staff at Starbucks in the Eagles Meadow shopping centre in Wrexham.
They came up with a unique fundraising competition to raise much-needed funds for the Alzheimer’s Society with customers donating £1 to design their own coffee cup.
Up for grabs were a goodie bag crammed full of bags of ground coffee and limited edition Starbucks tumblers.
Sangeeta, a business entrepreneurship student at Glyndwr University, came out on top in a customers’ vote.
The fourth year student said: “I’m really pleased and glad so many people liked my design. A friend told me about the competition so when I went to Starbucks, which I do a lot to be honest, I thought I’d give it a go.
“It took me about half-an-hour that’s all and I based my design on the Indian henna designs that are part of my culture. My mum is from India and my dad is from Wolverhampton and I grew up learning henna art work from an early age.”
She added; “I’ve never won any sort of competition before so to win was amazing and I’m glad the competition has raised a few hundred pounds for such a good charity.
“I think the Alzheimer’s Society is such a worthwhile cause and deserves a great deal of support. I’ll be sharing my prize with my student friends; we’ll all be enjoying a nice morning cup of coffee to get the day started!”
Starbucks manager Alex Roberts says the competition, which was only run at the Wrexham outlet, had proved very popular with customers.
She said: “We raised almost £200 for the Alzheimer’s Society which is brilliant. We had 72 entries and customers then voted by putting a small plastic token into their favourite design.
“I never realised how popular the competition was going to be as we had more than 1,000 votes. We basically had three top designs but Sangeeta’s was a clear winner.
“The amount of work that has gone into the design is incredible and it’s hard to believe it only took Sangeeta, who is a regular customer, around half-an-hour to complete her design. It’s a remarkable and intricate design drawn with a great deal of care.”
She added: “The idea for the competition came from two of our management team, coffee master, Claire Edwards, and barista Robert Stead. Several of the staff at Starbucks here at Eagles Meadow, including myself, have been directly affected by Alzheimer’s or dementia through the illness of close relatives.
“And I’m delighted we have been awarded a Purple Angel certificate, which is displayed in the front window of the café, which shows that staff are aware of the signs of dementia and will help anyone suffering from the condition should they need assistance.”
Kevin Critchley, the manager of Eagles Meadow Shopping Centre, says the Starbucks coffee cup design competition had proved a big success.
He said: “It’s wonderful Starbucks staff came up with this innovative way of fundraising for such a worthwhile cause as the Alzheimer’s Society. I know the competition has been really popular with many Starbucks customers.
“There’s no doubt Sangeeta’s design was a clear winner and I’m delighted for her. It’s hard to believe the intricate design was drawn free-hand, it really is a remarkable effort.”
He added: “The aim of the Purple Angels campaign is to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s with local shops and other businesses, providing them with a simple training manual so staff are better equipped to recognise the symptoms of dementia and respond accordingly.
“The idea is being championed by Wrexham-based Pendine Park Care Organisation with businesses that sign up to the scheme displaying posters and stickers with the Purple Angels logo in their windows to signify they are dementia aware.
“It’s something I wholeheartedly support and I’m delighted Eagles Meadow outlets are getting involved and backing what is a great campaign.”
To learn more about the Alzheimer’s Society visit www.alzheimers.org.uk and to learn more about the Purple Angel campaign visit www.purpleangel-global.com
