I am organising a screening of the film The Father as a fundraiser on behalf of Dementia Wellington. I care for my Mum who has dementia and have found the support and services Dementia Wellington provide invaluable.

About the film Anthony (Academy Award Winner, Anthony Hopkins) is 80, mischievous, living defiantly alone and rejecting the carers that his daughter, Anne (Academy Award and Golden Globe Winner, Olivia Colman), encouragingly introduces. Yet help is also becoming a necessity for Anne; she can't make daily visits anymore and Anthony's grip on reality is unraveling. As we experience the ebb and flow of his memory, how much of his own identity and past can Anthony cling to? How does Anne cope as she grieves the loss of her father, while he still lives and breathes before her? THE FATHER warmly embraces real life, through loving reflection upon the vibrant human condition; heart-breaking and uncompromisingly poignant -- a movie that nestles in the truth of our own lives.

If you unable to attend the fundraiser but would like to donate to Dementia Wellington you can donate here https://www.dementiawellington.org.nz/donate

About 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.

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.