FOUNDATION: LEEDS DEMENTIA ACTION ALLIANCE

FOUNDATION: LEEDS DEMENTIA ACTION ALLIANCE

Club and Foundation launch Leeds Dementia Action Alliance...

On Tuesday 20 January representatives from both Leeds United Football Club and the Leeds United Foundation gathered with senior representatives from Leeds City Council, the Alzheimer’s Society, Leeds Older People’s Forum and many other organisations from around the city, to officially unveil Leeds United as the newest member of the Leeds Dementia Action Alliance and celebrate the achievements of over 60 local organisations working to help Leeds become a dementia friendly city.

Leeds United Foundation Senior Executive Officer, Alan Scorfield (pictured), who himself has just completed his specialist training to become an official ‘Dementia Friends Champion’ said: “We’re delighted and proud to have been asked by the club to spearhead its membership of the Leeds Dementia Action Alliance. Under the umbrella of the Foundation’s Corner Flag Cafe, Leeds United has a long standing commitment to helping support people living with dementia and through membership of the Leeds Dementia Action Alliance we will not only reach more people in need of support but also significantly raise awareness of a condition which affects an estimated 8,500 people in Leeds, carers and families.”

The Leeds Dementia Action Alliance, which is based at the Leeds Older People’s Forum and run in partnership with Leeds City Council and the Alzheimer’s Society (Leeds), currently comprises over 60 local organisations committed to improving life for people with dementia and carers. Part of the national Dementia Action Alliance, the Leeds alliance actively works with its partners to help make Leeds a more dementia friendly city, raise awareness of the condition and tackle the social barriers that exist for many people.

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Maggie Graham from the Leeds Dementia Action Alliance said, “We’re extremely excited to welcome Leeds United Football Club and the Leeds United Foundation into the Alliance. As one of the best loved and respected institutions within our city, this support is a fantastic boost to the dementia friendly campaign and we hope that many more organisations will join us as a result. We also hope that more people wishing to make a difference a personal level will visit the Dementia Friends website www.dementiafriends.org.uk to register their support and get involved."

Hosted in the Bremner Suite at Elland Road, Tuesday’s event heard from people living with dementia, speakers from the partner organisations and other high profile organisations which are supporting the campaign, including Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Premier Taxis, West Yorkshire Playhouse, West Yorkshire Police and local voluntary organisations Dementia Friendly Rothwell, The Ciaran Bingham Foundation and Touchstone.

Around 80 guests enjoyed a morning coffee at the Foundation’s Corner Flag Cafe, which runs a regular service in partnership with Leeds City Council and sponsored by Leeds United Corporate Partner, MBi Consulting, to provide social opportunities and reminiscence activities using club memorabilia. As part of its Alliance action plan, the Foundation will be taking its services on the road in 2015 to offer outreach visits to any older people’s groups and organisations who would like to run a Leeds United session for members with dementia.

Cllr Adam Ogilvie, the council lead for Adult Social Care, spoke at the event and he said: "Organisations like Leeds United and its Foundation, and all the organisations supporting the Dementia Friendly Campaign, prove what an enormous amount can be achieved to help make our communities better places to live for people with dementia and carers. Leeds City Council is proud to be associated with this campaign, which is such an excellent partnership between all parts of the community."

For more information about the Leeds Dementia Alliance please visit www.dementiaaction.org.uk/leeds or email leedsdaa@opforum.org.uk.  

For more information about the Corner Flag Cafe or the Leeds United Foundation please contact Leeds United Foundation Business Development Executive Alan Scorfield via alan.scorfield@leedsunited.com or visit www.leedsunitedfoundation.com

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