When Charles Bain received his honorary MUniv degree from the University of Aberdeen on Thursday 2 July, the occasion became a triple celebration: his academic honour, his golden wedding anniversary with his wife Carol, and the graduation of Olivia Soper - the PhD student they supported, who was awarded her Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience.
Since 2011, Charles and Carol have played a pivotal role in advancing dementia research at the University of Aberdeen through both their unique, high-profile fundraising events and their ability to engage friends, family and the wider community in their efforts.
Charles and Carol were both spurred into making a difference in the fight against dementia when both their fathers succumbed to the disease within weeks of each other. Since then, they have spent huge amounts of time and effort creating events which have caught the imagination and raised £235,000 for the University’s work.
With events such as 2014’s Different Dancing Memories, where friends and business acquaintances practised for months before performing in front of Strictly Come Dancing professionals, and 2018’s Different Singing Memories, which saw Charles and three other novice singers giving their all, Charles and Carol’s efforts have been instrumental in advancing dementia research at the University of Aberdeen.
This dedication has led to the purchase of vital research equipment and the funding of Olivia’s PhD scholarship, but Charles has also facilitated introductions and collaborations between the University and other corporate and individual donors, helping to fund a second PhD scholarship and extending the reach of the University’s work in dementia research even further.
For his exceptional service, vision, and commitment to the University’s dementia research, Charles is highly deserving of his MUniv Honorary degree, and with Carol by his side, as they also celebrate their golden wedding anniversary, they’ll no doubt mark the occasion with a sense of pride, and shared achievement, reflecting both on a lifetime together and on the lasting impact they’ve made in the fight against dementia.
Olivia Soper (27) shared her gratitude for the help of Charles and his wife, Carol: “My PhD was only possible because Charlie fundraised so much money to support Alzheimer's and Dementia research at the University. All of the money that supported my PhD came from his fundraising.”
Reflecting on the day, Charles said: “It’s a very proud moment, very emotional moment and very happy moment.
“Just seeing all these graduates going through and now at the start of their career has made me feel really humble. It’s wonderful to see so many young people coming out and starting their life to do great things.
“I’d like to thank all the people that have helped us en route because it's not only me, it’s my wife, my family and all the people that's helped me; all the participants in my events - when we fundraised, all willing to help. We have all come together to do something about dementia and make advances in the research, and that's why we sponsor these students to do their best. And it's starting to happen. There are things happening in Aberdeen - including at TauRx (University of Aberdeen spin out company) - they are coming up with some real solutions.
“When my mother went into hospital, she passed away a few days later. I then started to go and see my father a lot more, and every time I went to see him I was noticing things in his character and his awareness. So, I then found out that's a sign of dementia. We kept him out of a care home as long as possible by giving him a tracker so we knew where he was which gave him his independence for longer.
“Eventually, he went into, Grandholm, it was really good. All the people looked after my dad well, and then I said: ‘When do you get the people in the care home out for a run?’ They said, ‘we don't have a bus’. I couldn’t believe that! So that was the thing that started us off. I fundraised in Aberdeen, I had Paul Daniels and Tommy Docherty up, and we raised £20,000 for a bus, and we gave it to VSA, which is an establishment in Aberdeen. But on the proviso, that for two days my Dad's care home would get the bus to get my Dad out and about. So that was a start. And then once I saw the dementia progress, I knew I need to still do things here. So I got in touch with the University, the Development Trust. I asked what technical equipment they needed that might help. They told me what they needed and I decided I would do an event every two years to try and raise the money to get the equipment. I felt if I could give something technically to get to the root cause of this, then that's a way forward.
“It’s a lot of work. I had my own business, but I just made time to do it. I'm still keen to keep going forward. Everybody that comes to see me and has been on my journey, if I do things, they'll all support it - so I feel I canna retire! I've got to try and do things to move it forward again.
“There are things happening in Aberdeen and they are developing new things so all our equipment is being used in all these areas which gives me great satisfaction. If I can help them find a solution then that would be excellent. I'm trying to link up other universities as well now – things in London so all these things are in the pipeline.
“These students and these clever people are the future to finding the root causes of dementia. A million people in the UK have it. So, it's something that's facing most of us. And we all need to do our bit to try and encourage sponsorship, getting new students on board, getting the right technology, integrate with other universities and with other institutions to try and get the solution. I'm going to try and collaborate in multiple areas to try and move things forward.”