I am running a fundraiser on behalf of Dementia Wellington in memory of my Grandma and in support for my Nana and all other families who are impacted by dementia.

Dementia Wellington

Dementia Wellington is an incorporated society and registered as a charitable organisation. We are the only charity providing dementia-specific support to anyone affected by dementia in the Wellington region.

Our funding comes from three sources: DHB contracts (25% of our income), grants from public and private trusts, and public donations. Almost 40% of the money we need to raise each year must come from our street appeal, bequests, and public fundraising activities. All the money we raise goes to providing free services to local families, and to running our dementia education programmes.

With the aging population the number of people with dementia is increasing and this is reflected in the steady increase in the number of referrals for our services. Currently in New Zealand 62,000 people have dementia and this is expected to triple by 2050 to over 170,000. Dementia Wellington has about 2,500 households on our mailing list who receive our quarterly newsletter and other communications from time to time.

Our services

We aim to create a dementia friendly Wellington where people affected by dementia are included as active participants in the community. We work to remove the stigma of dementia and to support people to live well with dementia.

For families affected by dementia, we provide:

• Individually-tailored advice, support, and information,

• Access to a range of support and social/activity groups, and

• Education courses on how to live well with dementia and how to support someone through the progression of dementia.

In the wider community, we work actively with local councils and community groups to ensure their programmes, resources, and initiatives are ‘dementia friendly’ - inclusive for people with dementia. We help make sure that people in the early stages of dementia can still live full and active lives. We offer education and training to help businesses and services in the region feel confident in their dealings with a client with dementia. We have had great success improving awareness and understanding, but there is much work still to do.