The sun shone on Tranent this weekend for the ELCO Annual Charity Sponsored Walk and Family Fun Day. This year the Club was raising funds for Dementia Friendly Tranent. At the current count the total is over £3,000 with sponsorship to come in. A fantastic sum, and every penny will be spent in supporting people in Tranent.
Joyce and Brian organise the event every year to support a worthy cause, but this year was especially poignant as Joyce’s Mum had dementia and the walk was dedicated in her honour. Joyce and I first started talking about the walk last September when we met at the first Dementia Friendly Tranent Community Event, since then Joyce and Brian with the support of the ELCO Bowling Club, have been working hard to make it happen.
We wanted a weekend that not only raised money, but also raised awareness about dementia and how it impacts on the lives of people in our community. What makes a big difference is kindness, understanding and support for people living with dementia and their carers and supporters. Tranent is full of Dementia Friendliness! Joyce and Brian also wanted a weekend that brought the community together for fun. So the Sunday of the Les Rowe Bowls Tournament we had stalls selling local goods, a hog roast and an array of raffle prizes the like I have yet to see. The generosity of the people and businesses of Tranent was humbling. So much kindness and generosity.
It was a great day for everyone and we even had a bouncy slide for the children and a few of the young at heart.
We got lots of great ideas about what people wanted to see in their community:
- A Museum and more on local history
- A Christmas Party and lunch for Tranent’s senior citizens
- More events for older people to get together and have fun
- Tea dances and other opportunities to shake a wicked hoof
- Training and information about Dementia
- To go into care homes and nursing homes to talk about dementia and help raise awareness
- Laminated photographs of family members that people can look at and talk about together
So what happens next? Well we’ll announce the final sum and formally hand the cheque over to Dementia Friendly Tranent later this month. If you want to get involved in deciding how we spend it, come along to the next DF Tranent meeting (22 September at Muir Park) or contact Joyce, Brian, Maureen or me with your ideas.
A big thank you to Joyce and Brian, and to Hannah who inspired us all to make this happen. And of course we’ll all be supporting Joyce and Brian’s walk next year – walking is one of the most important things you can do to reduce your risk of dementia so get out there and walk!