Part A- Vision, Assessment and Goals and Objectives.

Alzheimer’s Society Lanark Leeds Grenville

Vision

Background Information on the group/agency’s mission, vision and overall organizational philosophy.

The Alzheimer Society of Lanark Leeds Grenville is a non-profit organization and registered charity, that offers support, education, and advocacy for families of people with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. The Society also focuses on raising money to support the programs and services it provides by fundraising initiatives. Money that is raised within each society stays within to help better the services they offer with the exception of funds for research.

Vision- A world without Alzheimer’s disease.

Mission- The Alzheimer Society Lanark Leeds Grenville works to alleviate the personal and social consequences of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia, and promote the search for the cause and cure

Values

· Collaboration

· Accountability

· Respect

· Excellence

Our focus when pairing up with the Alzheimer’s Society of Lanark Leeds Grenville is to raise funds to support the programs and services, they are offering to our community members. Some programs and services include Support programs, Brain health programs, Day programs/ respite care, Art and music therapy, Referral services, Public Awareness, Dementia education and resource programs for caregivers, health care providers, first responders, financial professionals and anyone affected.

What are you trying to achieve? Identify the problem or cause

As a group we would like to achieve a dementia friendly environment by providing more awareness to promote less stereotypes on the disease in our community. We also want to raise funds to help support our local society and the amazing programs and services that are needed by many. With the aging population the need for the services they provide will continue to escalate. As a group we hope to raise funds to help ensure that everyone affected has the opportunity to utilize their services. According to the Alzheimer’s Society of Ontario. More than 260,000 Ontarians are living with dementia and this number is expected to double in the next 20 years.

What is your ideal outcome for this community?

Our ideal outcome for this community is to have a dementia friendly environment with enough funding and awareness to continue to provide the programs they offer, as well as future knowledge and programs that will be needed.

Assessment

The Alzheimer’s Society of Canada is a nation-wide Charity that supports those affected by dementia. The society fundraises through communities, individuals, corporations, and healthcare partners. The funds raised through all forms of donations goes directly into supporting local families through offering programs and support services, advanced research, and public awareness. In Canada there are 10 provincial societies all of which have societies within smaller communities. For our assignment we are targeting the Alzheimer’s Society of Lanark, Leeds Grenville.

The Lanark Leeds Grenville office serves community members through adult day programs, overnight respite care, and caregivers services. There are 13 adult day programs that are run each week throughout Lanark, Leeds and Grenville. Each program serves 12 clients with a weekly total of about 156 clients. The program currently has a waitlist which expresses the need for the society in our community.

The Alzheimer’s Society of Lanark Leeds Grenville has 13 office/management staff positions, 10 program assistants and 12 overnight stay program staff. The society also has community volunteers that help programs run smoothly. Among the 13 staff positions they have a fund developing and marketing position. This staff member is responsible for fundraising initiatives, promoting, applying for grants, finding community partners etc. Currently this position is not filled at Lanark Leeds Grenville.

The most successful fundraising event the Society hosts is the Annual Red Dress Gala. This year will be the 4th annual event. To date the Red Dress Gala has raised over $22,000 and is gaining popularity each year.

Based on the Canadian Census (Statistics Canada, 2021) the population of Lanark Leeds Grenville is aging. Dementia is most common in people within this age group. This data expresses the importance of the work the Alzheimer’s Society does for our aging community.

Visual Chart for aging population in photos below

ABCD Model Bellow

Set Goals and Establish Outcomes

Vision: What are we trying to achieve

As a group we are aiming to bring awareness to Alzheimer’s and what the Alzheimer's society can offer to those who suffer from Alzheimer’s and to offer support to families affected by it.

Goals: Outline of our Intention

Our goal as a group is to raise awareness around Alzheimer’s in our area. With our group having both family related and work-related experience we want to help families who have loved ones suffering from Alzheimer’s. Since Alzheimer’s is an umbrella term, we want to show that the Alzheimer's Society is a great resource for families both the caregivers and the person diagnosed with the disease.

Objectives: Actions we are taking to reach our goal

We have started multiple fundraising platforms to raise funds for the Alzheimer's Society including Bottle drive, dress down day at the Perth Starbucks, volleyball tournament, Ottawa Senators raffle tickets.

Bottle Drive: this is an ongoing effort from our group members. We started this in the beginning of September, and it is ongoing until December 1st.

Dress Down Day at Perth Starbucks: Each employee at Starbucks Perth can pay $2 for one day, or $5 for the whole weekend. This is a chance for our partners to dress down in clothing outside our dress code.

Volleyball Tournament: This is being hosted at a local high school gymnasium on November 5th. We thought it was a fun way to bring the community together to raise awareness and funds for a good cause.

Ottawa Senators Raffle Tickets: We were fortunate to have 2 Ottawa Senators tickets donated to us by a community member for our raffle. Anyone is able to buy these tickets $10 each or 3 for $20 this is ongoing until the draw date on November 29th.

Recommendations and Implementation Strategies

Something we found that worked well for us was making our fundraising techniques unique to our area, being a small town, you want to specifically target it to your town. Being able to utilize various workplaces was a big benefit for us especially with Starbucks having insight about the dress code and getting the partners involved helps raise awareness. As a group we each had our own idea for fundraising so being a group of 5 we had five different avenues of fundraising.