The public is invited to come for a cup of coffee and meet the new support and education co-ordinator Mary Beth Rutherford of the local branch of the Alzheimer Society of BC.
The Coffee Break is an annual fundraiser for the South Okanagan Similkameen branch of the society and this year will be hosted for the first time by Mary Beth Rutherford who took over from Laurie Myres in September.
Read more:Changing of the guard at Penticton Alzheimer Society office
“I thought it would be nice to have a meet and greet since I’m not to the position,” said Rutherford. “These are also huge events for us because we are a non-profit organization and without funding from public support we wouldn’t be able to provide all the programs and services we do.”
This year’s Coffee Break is Oct. 25 from 10 a.m to 2 p.m. at the Penticton office located at 104-35 Backstreet Boulevard just off Front Street.
“We will have coffee and muffins for a donation,” said Rutherford. “It’s for people who want to learn more about what we do, just have a good cup of coffee or find out more about dementia.”
Education is a large part of the work the local society office does on a daily basis.
“I just had somebody come into the office and they have dementia and talked about the isolation,” said Rutherford. “Everybody around them just kind of took a step back and that’s the last thing you need. You need to have more interaction to stay more mentally stimulated.
“You deal with people everyday and you may think they are a little off or a little funny but it could be something else and that’s why the more you learn about it the better it is.”
