23 Feb We are a 501c3 organization!
Our “Dementia-Friendly Communities of Northern Colorado”® volunteer initiative is officially a nonprofit organization now! Since we started in November, 2015, the momentum for this effort has been so positive, that we are able to partner as an “official” 501c3 corporation with other organizations in Northern Colorado to make our communities increasingly more dementia-aware and dementia-friendly.
To that end, our 2017 goals are bold. They require collaboration among many of us in Northern Colorado which is why our goals are fully achievable. If we have anything in Northern Colorado, we have people who care and collaborate!
Just THIS WEEK!:
We held an intergenerational memory café and dance. See our Facebook page for pictures!
We continued to fine tune the B Sharp Arts Engagement program before the next symphony performance on March 4.
We are planning the B Sharp Visual Arts Engagement program which will start in April at the Fort Collins Art Museum where 5 couples will participate in a memory MASK creation program.
We provided dementia-friendly education to the Loveland Library staff and a senior living facility.
We announced the Leaders in Dementia Care series of quarterly educational opportunities that we will be offering with the Alzheimer’s Association for any senior care agencies which want to earn designation as a Leader in Dementia Care through the Alzheimer’s Association and as a Dementia-Friendly organization through us. We are providing this training at no charge to participants.
Since January, staff from Seniors Helping Seniors, Right at Home, and Spring Creek Memory Care have attended training sessions. Staff at North Platte Physical Therapy in Cheyenne, Connect Hearing in Fort Collins, Loveland, and Cheyenne, Stepping Stones in Loveland, 911 Dispatch operators in Loveland, and Plymouth Congregational Church members have all participated in dementia education! We continue to collaborate with the Alzheimer’s Association, Sharing the Care campaign and, Eldercare Network for several intergenerational projects, activities, and educational opportunities. Check out our Facebook page for updates. We are starting off strong in 2017.
Thank you for your support and participation in this initiative. Just a reminder: Your donations directly to “Dementia-Friendly Communities of Northern Colorado” are tax deductible. We still remain a volunteer organization with no paid positions, so at this time, all donations received are being used for dementia-awareness promotional materials, educational resources, memory café supplies, and expenses related to increasing dementia awareness locally, nationally, and internationally. We collaborate with people in Northern Colorado and indeed across the globe to help our communities become increasingly more dementia-friendly. Your support of this initiative helps us leverage the good work being done in our communities.