Spotlight on: Alison – Remembering Not to Forget Part 2

It’s been a year since we first heard from Dot Dot Dot guardian, Alison, about her charity, Remembering Not to Forget. As it’s Dementia Action Week 2019, we wanted to revisit her story to find out how things have gone over the last 12 months. Hear from Alison below about the hard work and commitment it takes to run her charity, and the achievements that make it all worth it.

2019 has been a quiet year so far for Remembering Not to Forget. Our last event was a raffle held at the end of last year, through which we raised over £3,000. It was fantastic to have so much support from people far and near, and especially important to me as the raffle was organised in memory of my mum, part of the inspiration for setting up the charity and a demon raffle ticket seller! My volunteering time this year has mostly been taken up with the boring side of things (the ongoing admin of the charity, without which we can’t run) and, more excitingly, researching possible recipients for our current pot of funding. Talking to other dementia charities about how the funds we’ve raised will be used to impact people impacted by dementia is one of my favourite parts of running the charity. We’re also currently planning our fundraising activities for later this year, so watch this space!

My volunteering hours are a way for me to remember my mum, who passed away a year and a half ago after living with dementia for 11 years, and to support the thousands of people impacted by dementia in the UK today. So far we’ve raised over £70,000.

Dementia Action Week runs 20th – 26th May, and this year the theme is all about encouraging everyone to take action by starting a conversation with someone they know who is living with dementia. That might mean calling a relative with dementia or visiting a neighbour, and although it might feel difficult to know what to say, the Alzheimer’s Society has put together some guidance here. Part of the reason we set up Remembering Not to Forget was to get people talking more openly about dementia, so I really hope Dementia Action Week will help to get the conversation going.

If you’d like to find out more, or get involved, please get in touch at ali@rememberingnottoforget.org.uk