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The Keynsham and Saltford Dementia Action Alliance (DAA) have recently benefitted financially from the efforts of a group of men and women keen to get fit or maintain their fitness.

It is not the first time that Keynsham Town Walking Football Team have supported the work of the DAA with a large cash donation gathered through their fundraising activity.

The amazing amount of £655 was achieved through their sporting activity at a match organised to celebrate jointly the 60th birthday of Geoff Beazer one of their club and at the same time to honour the death of Geoff’s father who had been living with dementia. Each player paid to play and Clive Palmer another club member was responsible for a very well organised raffle.

Martin Coles from the club told us “As a club we are grateful for our health that allows us to play our sport but so many people nowadays have their lives touched by a relative or friend living with dementia. This fundraiser came out of such a situation and we are pleased to support the efforts of the DAA.”

The money raised was presented at the match to Merrial and Mike Knight who are respectively the secretary and treasurer of the DAA. Such financial support enables the DAA to make their twice monthly ‘Music for the Mind’ sessions sustainable and at the same time also enables them to provide literature to help in their wider efforts within the town.

Chairman of the DAA Alan Hale told us “We are extremely grateful to Keynsham Town Walking Football Club for their support yet again. Our aim is to make Keynsham and Saltford more dementia friendly and dementia inclusive and we are grateful when the community think of us and lend support.”

Background on the Walking Football Club is available at https://www.walkingfootball.com

We’d like to thank Patricia’s family for a kind donation made in her memory.

Her daughter (Christine) has given permission to give the account below of the impact the Music for the Mind sessions had on her.

“A Keynsham resident for the last 20 years of her life (5 of which were at St Philip’s and St James) and prior to that a life long resident of Bristol. Music was a very important part of Mum’s life, and to a lesser extent my Dad’s.  Mum sang from an early age in a variety of amateur choirs – Mum was a member of the Bedminster based Bancroft Choir which won a number of Eisteddfod competitions in the late 1940s and through the 1950s; Bristol Cathedral School Parents Choir which later became more of a Community Choir associated with the Cathedral, Henleaze Ladies Choir to name a few.  

Mum carried on singing with friends some of her old Bancroft friends throughout her life regularly entertaining groups, often elderly people, only stopping about 10 years ago when it was becoming increasingly difficult for the group to travel to various venues in and around Bristol.

She would often sing to herself, care staff or her hairdresser in St Philips so I was pleased that there were times when she was able to go to the Music for the Mind sessions at St Dunstans.

My very best wishes for the continuation of this precious service.“

Dementia Action Week (20 – 26 May 2019) unites people, workplaces, schools and communities to take action and improve the lives of people living with dementia.

Events will be taking place up and down the country for Dementia Action Week. From music festivals to information stands, there’s something for everyone and we all have a role to play in helping to build dementia-friendly communities.

Keynsham and Saltford Dementia Action Alliance have arranged the following events:

Tuesday 21st May

K&SDAA will have staff at the Keynsham Scout Hut between 10.00 and 14.00

Two separate Dementia Friends sessions taking place at St Dunstan’s Church Hall.  One at 14.30-15.30 and the other one 19.30-20.30.

Thursday 23rd May

Usual Music for the Mind session from 10.30 – 12.15 at St Dunstan’s Church Hall

Saturday 25th May. 

K&SDAA will have a stand at Keynsham Library during the morning where more information on how we are trying to help the local community and the activities.

More information on Dementia Action Week can also be found on the Alzheimer’s Society website here.

Our Dementia champions are running two sessions this month in Keynsham.

If you are interested in becoming a Dementia Friend, please join us on the 21st May at St Dunstan’s Church Hall.

There is no need to book and you can just turn up.

More information can be found here.

We are the Keynsham and Saltford Dementia Action Alliance, a registered charity concerned with making Keynsham, Saltford and the surrounding areas a dementia friendly place to live.

As part of our work, in conjunction with the Bath and North East Somerset Dementia Action Alliance, we have helped to create a booklet developed to help people living with dementia and their carers. The booklet contains a list of all the services for those living with dementia in the Bath and North East Somerset area. An online version of the booklet can be found here.

If would like a hard copy, please get in contact and we can arrange for one to be sent out/provided.

If you are not already a member of our organisation and would like to join  please get in touch, its free and we can help make your organisation more dementia friendly.

Thank you for continuing to help us to make Keynsham, Saltford and the surrounding areas dementia friendly.