James Latham, the nearly 270-year-old British timber and panel products distributor, has named Alzheimer’s Society as its official charity partner for 2026-27. The decision was made by a company-wide staff vote, with employees across the company’s network of depots and offices in the UK and Ireland choosing the cause that mattered most to them.
Dementia is a shared concern across the construction and specification community, affecting staff, customers, suppliers and their families. In the UK, someone develops dementia every three minutes, and around one million people are currently living with the condition. For many across the James Latham team, supporting Alzheimer’s Society is personal.
James Latham is committing time, people and creativity alongside fundraising. Depots, divisions and head office teams are able to join awareness initiatives and fundraising activities throughout the year, with every employee granted one paid day to take part in volunteering, events and campaigns that support charities. For example, Billy McKay, operations manager at the Leeds depot, recently ran the Leeds Half Marathon carrying a 30kg Army-issue backpack in support of the cause.
To date, James Latham has donated £40,750 to Alzheimer's Society, helping to fund activities such as 122 hours of running costs for the Dementia Friends programme, 272 sessions of Singing for the Brain and 5,705 calls answered on the Dementia Support Line.
In 2024-25, Alzheimer's Society reached 106,000 people directly through its support services. The charity has also invested £18.6m in dementia research activities, £16.1m in highlighting inequalities in health and care, and £9m in three doctoral training centres that will train more than 75 researchers over five years.
Nick Latham, chairman, James Latham, says: "Our people are at the heart of everything we do, so it felt right to let them choose the cause we’d stand behind. Dementia has touched so many of our colleagues, customers, suppliers and friends across the UK and Ireland, and the strength of feeling in the staff vote made that very clear. We’re proud they’ve chosen Alzheimer’s Society. Our ambition is for this to be a partnership built on action and shared commitment, with our teams ready to roll up their sleeves and make a real difference."
