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100 Women Who Care Dufferin donate to local Alzheimer Society

September 24, 2018   ·   0 Comments

By Jasen Obermeyer

The Orangeville-based Alzheimer Society of Dufferin County will be greatly benefiting from the efforts of the 100 Women Who Care Dufferin.

The women gathered for their second meeting of the year Monday (Sept. 17) at the Hockley Valley Resort. In one hour, the women successfully raised $11,700.

Participants were able to nominate an organization ahead of time, with the top three nominators given five minutes to pitch to those in attendance, and each participant pledged to contribute $100.

Lindsay Butcher, the society’s executive director, and Lindsay Gregory, the awareness and education coordinator, spoke for the organization.

Ms. Butcher said that 564,000 Canadians are living with dementia, with 25,000 new diagnoses every year. “Statistics say that the number of Canadians living with dementia is expected to climb to one-million in the next 15 years.”

She added, “In July and August of this year, we received 28 new referrals alone,” and an increase of complex cases in the community requiring more “caregiver intervention at home.”

“We work alongside our clients, to bring them support, through one-on-one visits, office support, telephone support, peer group support, and social and volunteer opportunities,” said Ms. Gregory.

She stressed that “the need is rapidly increasing,” but their support is “unwavering.”

She explained that the money donated would go towards their Montessori-Based Dementia Programming, a program that helps improve aspects of the quality of life for a client. She said the method, which involves therapeutic pets and babies, engages the senses to help the client and their families “rediscover a world around them,” to reconnect past memories and events, and the emotions that go with it.

Ms. Gregory said they rely heavily on donations for therapeutic programs. Asked  the cost of the babies and pets, she said they cost $350 and $140 respectively.

She shared with the ladies a story on one of their first experiences using the Montessori program, where a client would rummage through the house, look through family photos, was restless, agitated, would wander, and refused to sleep in bed with her husband.

Ms. Gregory described meeting the client’s daughter. “It was at that moment that we discovered that her parents had given a baby up for adoption,” which is what she and staff believed the client was looking for.

They then decided to use a therapeutic baby. “Staff worked with the daughter, and how to introduce the baby.”

Later in the day, she said the daughter called to tell them the baby “was an absolute hit,” the mother was happy, couldn’t put the baby down, and went to bed with her husband.

The other nominees were Theatre Orangeville, and Matthews House Hospice. The women will host their last meeting of the year on November 26.

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