Dear Editor,
Each May in communities around B.C., people unite to walk to raise awareness and funds to help the Alzheimer Society of B.C. deliver programs and services for people affected by dementia. This year, while we couldn’t connect in person, Canadians from coast to coast to coast joined together in the first-ever IG Wealth Management Walk for Alzheimer’s — online! On Sunday, May 31 Central Interior residents showed that no matter what the world looks like, they are still united to support people affected by dementia.
During the national livestream, people shared stories about their experience on the dementia journey, and showed us what they were doing to raise funds to support their local Alzheimer Society.
On behalf of the Alzheimer Society of B.C., I would like to extend immense gratitude to the participants, donors, sponsors, patrons, and volunteers who made this first-ever online event a success. Special thanks to everyone who made the live event possible, including the host, CTV News’ Marcia MacMillan, and Victoria’s own Voices in Motion choir, who performed a special version of “O Canada”.
During the event, we heard again and again the same theme: dementia doesn’t stop and neither do Alzheimer Societies, who continue to provide support to people affected by dementia.
The funds raised at events like this one have helped the Alzheimer Society of B.C. shift our activities to continue to meet the needs of British Columbians affected by dementia, including holding weekly webinars on topics of particular relevance to caregivers and people living with dementia. We’ve extended the hours of our First Link Dementia Helpline, which is now open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. to provide evening service in English.
We have also launched surveys to seek feedback from people who are living with dementia and caregivers — as well as from health care providers — to hear directly from them about how we can meet their support needs at this time.
We may not be able to be together in-person with our community members just yet, but thanks to the generosity of all our supporters, we will continue to work to ensure that they know they are not alone.
If you would like to make a gift to the Walk to help support our services, you can do so by visiting https://alzbc.org/walkforalz. To find out more about support being offered at this time, or to participate in our surveys, please visit https://alzbc.org/COVID-19.
For questions about memory loss or dementia, call the First Link Dementia Helpline at 1-800-936-6033 (Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.).
Maria Howard
CEO, Alzheimer Society of B.C.
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