IT is Local Newspaper Week – an annual event highlighting the important campaigning role played by local papers in communities across the UK.

The Bolton News has a long and proud history of campaigning for our readers on issues that matter most to them — we have been fighting on your behalf since our first edition was printed in 1867.

Here reporter Rosalind Saul looks at the Bolton News' ongoing campaign to help make a difference for patients with dementia in the Royal Bolton Hospital.

Making a Difference, the theme of this year's local newspaper week, is very much at the heart of our Donate £1 for Dementia campaign.

Local media has a duty to report the news but also, where it can, to help bring positive changes in the community.

The pages of a newspaper and online can be a great way of getting a message out to the public.

With that in mind, back in June last year we teamed up with the Bolton NHS Charitable Fund to launch the appeal which aims to raise £200,000 to make wards at the Royal Bolton Hospital dementia-friendly.

The idea is a simple one, asking every household, business, school and group in Bolton to donate at least £1 which will go towards purchasing special equipment which will make the hospital environment, familiar and easy to use for patients with dementia but are not covered by NHS funding.

That includes brighter or softer lighting at different times and a 1960s-themed communal lounge for patients to sit and talk in.

The launch was led by reporter Tui Benjamin and raised £1,000 in its first two weeks.

Nearly a year on and we continue to push the campaign forward, with more than £23,000 raised and many fundraising events to promote and support.

The trust's charitable fundraiser Andy Lee has been at the forefront of the campaign from the beginning.

He said: "The paper has been, for us, our way into the community if you will. I have nothing but praise for the Bolton News for what it has done for us.

"Since we first approached the paper about the campaign it has gone above and beyond what we expected. It not only joined us but took ownership as well.

"When we have been out and about fundraising there have been people who come up to us because they read about the campaign in the newspaper. It's really got the message out there to the community.

"To be able to see the campaign and the stories in the paper, well you couldn't buy that support or voice in the community."