Staff at Dorchester-based Magna Housing have chosen the charity to benefit from the money raised from dress down collections over the last year.

They voted to donate the £800 raised to dementia charity, Alzheimer’s Society.

Karenza Frear nominated the charity. She said: “This is a charity that is very close to my heart.

“My father was diagnosed with advanced dementia with Lewy Bodies last year and the Alzheimer’s Society website provided comprehensive and easy-to-use guidance on how to navigate through the whole the process from hospital discharge to what care and benefits were available as well we providing advice on the range of symptoms associated with the illness and how to best to manage them.”

The £800 was collected from staff across Dorset and Somerset. At the end of each month, office-based staff pay £1 each to wear casual clothes to work.

The money is saved over the year and donated to the charity that gets the most votes from the staff for the nominations submitted.

Catriona Fountain, head of communication for Magna, said: “Magna does all it can to support the communities we are based in, and this is a great way of giving something back to people who need help.”

Alzheimer’s Society Community Fundraiser for Dorset and Somerset, Sian Neville, welcomed Magna Housing’s decision to help raise money for the charity.

She said: “It’s wonderful that staff at Magna Housing chose to support Alzheimer’s Society through their dress down collections.

“I’d like to thank their staff for their support and generosity. It goes to show how such a simple fundraising idea can be really effective.

“We’d love other businesses and organisations to give this a go.

“Dementia devastates lives, but dementia won’t win. Until the day we find a cure we will be here for anyone affected by dementia, wherever they are, whatever they’re going through.

“We need more people like Magna Housing to join us now and unite against dementia.”