Toodyay Lions Club funding
Headphones
Toodyay Lions Club have provided a generous $500 gift towards the purchase of headphones, to be distributed to local residents who are living with dementia.
The headphones stream music wirelessly, enabling people to listen to their favourite radio stations and play preloaded MP3 files from any microSD card.
This means that those living with dementia who may find it overwhelming in new environments or around new people, or those who may just be finding general situations difficult, can create their own familiar and calm space through music.
The headphones can be loaded with loved ones favourite songs, and give them a way to separate themselves from the stress of their surroundings.
FMN looks forward to helping distribute these amazing gifts to the local community, thanks to the extremely generous Toodyay Lions Club.
We are so very grateful for their support.
forget-me-not pins
The Idea
Forget-Me-Not is looking to have pins produced to encourage dementia awareness throughout Australia. These pins would be available to wear to create knowledge and awareness of persons living with dementia. With a universally known symbol, it is our hope that if those living with dementia were to wander away from their carer, the general public would associate the pin with dementia and be more likely to offer assistance if found alone.
we have had a great response from those attending the FMN memory cafe's as well as from Local Governments and Minister Mick Murray MLA Minister for Ageing; volunteering; sport and recreation, but want to survey the community to see if this idea is supported.
The Reason
In 2018, Angi's husband Michael went missing in Kings Park, much to the distress of friends and family. He disappeared around 4pm in the afternoon, and by 6pm the Police and SES were out in full force searching the area. Near 9pm a police officer managed to locate Michael in the City.
Alone, he had managed to cross numerous busy roads and wander the streets until an officer recognised him and brought him back to family.
This was an amazingly outcome for the family; more fortunate than many others who have been in this same situation. The realisation that Michael could have been lost and yet surrounded by people, while unable to understand he was missing, horrified the family. Things could easily have ended much differently.
It was then that Forget-Me-Nots realised that finding a nationally recognised emblem, just as with the daffodil pin and pink and blue ribbons, may help the general public become more aware of Dementia and the people who live with it.
Easier to spot than an emergency bracelet, and more visible than an ID card which would be placed in a bag or wallet, a bright pin would draw the eye and with enough knowledge, the general population would be able to more easily notice a person wanderingly alone within a crowd.
Our aim with these pins is not to force our loved ones to wearing badges to make them victims of abuse or unwanted attention, but to give piece of mind to carers whose loved ones are prone to wandering while on excursions.
These pins could be a simple yet effective way to keep Dementia in the minds and hearts of those otherwise unfamiliar with this disease.
Update
Forget-Me-Not has been in talks with the Freshwater Bay Rotary Club, who have been working tirelessly to fund and support us in obtaining our Dementia Awareness pins!
The Rotary Club has been so amazingly supportive of our endeavors in spreading awareness, and have gone above and beyond in their help, and funding. COVID has put a slight halt to the initiative, but we hope to have pins available as soon as we are able.
More information will be supplied when available.