Supporting Alzheimers

Every three seconds, someone in the world develops dementia. Here in Aotearoa New Zealand, 4 out of 5 of us know or have known someone living with dementia, it is something that affects almost all of us at some point.

September was dementia awareness month and at Alzheimers Tauranga/ WBOP we promote the celebration of this by encouraging people to ‘Move for Dementia’ and set a movement challenge either solo or in a team. This can be anything from walking, aerobics to zip-lining! Create a fundraising page to share with friends and whānau and encourage them to participate as well. There is a promo kit on the Alzheimers NZ website to help with your challenge.

Alzheimers Tauranga/WBOP is helping in the local community to make life better for those living with dementia, through its support and education services. Back in April, there was a promotion for volunteers to help within the Ōmokoroa community from which we got some lovely people responding and this enabled us to set up a group alongside some existing volunteers.

This group got underway in May and runs twice a month and is being enjoyed by around 14 people a month from the local Ōmokoroa and surrounding areas. They enjoy companionship, quizzes, music, food and conversations about all sorts of topics.

The goal for this group would be to run it weekly and for that, we need a few more volunteers, so if you can spare three hours once a month to help out, or if you are interested in helping in any way to support those living with dementia, please contact me, Faye Philp, the Volunteer Coordinator to find out more. Phone 07 577 6344.