e-Newsletter - August 2020 |
|
Coffee Break® = Coffee for A Cause
Help us raise money in celebration of World Alzheimer’s Day – September 21, 2020
Coffee Break® is one of the Alzheimer Society of Simcoe County’s annual fundraisers where our community raises funds to support the programs and services we offer to people throughout Simcoe County living with or affected by dementia. This year Coffee Break® will take place during the month of September.
As physical distancing has become part of our daily routines, we understand the overwhelming feelings of loss and loneliness being separated from the community can bring - feelings that people living with dementia experience in their normal, day-to-day lives. That’s why this year’s Coffee Break® is more important than ever. It will promote the importance of socializing, staying in touch, and building strong, positive relationships with your family, friends, and community. Now more than ever, it is important to find creative ways to stay connected to our family and friends, and at the same time, raise funds to support important services to help ensure people living with dementia are not isolated.
This year, we are appealing to businesses where people can purchase a cup of coffee, as well as individuals and organizations who are able to host Coffee Break® events either in-person (with proper physical distancing protocols or within your social bubble), or online. Individual hosts and small organizations will be provided with a complimentary kit that includes coffee and promotional materials upon request. Regardless of who or how you host, the goal is to encourage donations and enjoy being social in a safe manner!
Why participate in Coffee Break®?
The number of Canadians with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia is expected to double in a generation to 1.1 million. Currently, over 10,000 individuals in Simcoe County are living with dementia. When you host a Coffee Break®, you help raise much-needed funds for local programs and services for people with dementia, their families and care partners. Your support makes a huge difference in their lives. Proceeds raised for the Alzheimer Society of Simcoe County stay in Simcoe County to help support local programs and services.
|
|
Announcing our Updated Vision, Mission, Values & Strategic Directions |
|
Following a comprehensive review process, the Alzheimer Society of Simcoe County is pleased to present our revitalized Vision, Mission, Values and Strategic Directions!
Our Vision
Persons living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, and their care partners, live well and thrive in their community.
Our Mission
To improve the quality of life of persons living with dementia, and care partners, through the provision of support services, education, social programs, and research support.
Our Values: We C.A.R.E.
Collaboration
- We work cooperatively together with clients, staff, volunteers and other stakeholders to achieve the organization’s vision, mission and objectives.
- We seek inputs and feedback to improve our programs and services.
Accountability
- We take responsibility for, and ownership of, our important work.
- We act with integrity, honesty and transparency.
Respect
- We interact with everyone with courtesy, dignity, appreciation and compassion.
- We value diversity and inclusion.
Excellence
- We strive to continuously improve.
- We aim to achieve the highest quality performance.
Our Strategic Directions for 2020-2024
- Optimize quality of life for individuals impacted by dementia.
- Strengthen our voice, brand, and relevance with stakeholders.
- Cultivate funding to ensure long term sustainability.
- Support research.
- Improve sustainability and viability through new ways of collaborating within the Alzheimer Society in Ontario Federation.
- Address local challenges to ensure seamless operations.
We look forward to working with all our stakeholders to achieve the ambitious goals we have set, as we continue to strive toward achieving our vision.
|
|
Programs and Services Update |
|
We are looking into strategies that would enable us to resume some in-person programs and services, knowing that we need to comply with current public health measures for the health and safety of the participants in these programs, as well as our staff and volunteers. We will share our plans with you as they develop.
For the time being, we continue to offer all our programs and services by phone and online. Our staff have developed a number of tip sheets for accessing online services, and would be happy to provide personal assistance to get you started.
Please see our Programs Guide for more information on what is available. A new guide will be released soon!
|
|
FREE Activity Kits Available! |
|
The Alzheimer Society of Simcoe County is thrilled to have received funding from the Canada Emergency Community Support Fund through the United Way Simcoe Muskoka to create and distribute activity kits to our clients! Kits are available for a range of abilities and interests and are meant to help keep people living with dementia engaged during this time of physical distancing.
|
|
Alzheimer Society of Simcoe County volunteer, Donna Warner, is the magician behind the video which advertised our 2020 IG Wealth Management Walk for Alzheimer’s. Donna was a CBC Television Sports Producer, and traveled the world working on major sporting events including the Olympics, World Figure Skating Championships, and gymnastics competitions.
Donna started the Walk for Alzheimer’s video project in 2019 by filming the event at Sunnidale Park in Barrie. The creative work began this year, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. “It was a challenge to work on it remotely with the editor in Toronto, to make the video interesting and motivational, so that people wanted to participate in the virtual Walk and raise funds for the Alzheimer Society – from the comfort of their home” says Donna. The video was also a tribute to her mother who died as a result of Alzheimer’s disease in 2018, which made the work personally satisfying.
Thank you, Donna, for sharing your special skill with the Alzheimer Society of Simcoe County!
Click here to take a look at Donna’s contribution to the IG Wealth Management Walk for Alzheimer’s.
|
|
Summer Hours & Operational Recovery Plans |
|
Please note that our schedule of operations has changed for the summer, as follows:
Monday to Thursday
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Friday
8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Regular hours of operation will resume on September 8th, 2020.
Staff will be returning to the Barrie office on a scheduled basis in August, but we will remain closed to the public. Over the coming weeks, we will be planning for our “new normal” in terms of the safe delivery of programs and services across Simcoe County. We hope to begin offering some in-person services again in the fall as appropriate, based on public health advice and Ministry of Health guidelines. We will keep you apprised as our plans are developed.
We continue to accept referrals and provide a full range of education, support services, and social programs online and by phone. Please contact us at 705-722-1066 or simcoecounty@alzheimersociety.ca for more information.
|
|
Many of the support services, education, and social programs we offer persons living with dementia and their care partners may not continue to exist without the generosity and support of individuals and organizations in our community.
Year over year, we must raise about 40% of the cost to fund the many community programs and services we offer, which has become increasingly difficult due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding from Provincial and Federal governments is just not enough to meet the needs in our community. We rely heavily on donations and fundraising events to keep these vital programs running in every community we serve.
What can you do about dementia?
For more information, please call us at 705-722-1066 x258
Charitable Registration Number: 11921 2116 RR0001
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
