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Dear Supporter,
I’m Caroline Cameron, host of Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey on Sportsnet. This January, I’m excited to team up with the Alzheimer Society to spread awareness of a very personal cause - brain health and dementia.
A decade ago, my now late Grandma Shirley was diagnosed with vascular dementia. We were very close, and her diagnosis was difficult for all of us.
Suddenly my family and I became a part of my grandma’s life in a way we hadn’t been before. It was challenging for her and for us, adjusting to a new reality, but I quickly learned how helping with little things like laundry or just keeping her company was the best way to support her new normal.
Read my full story here.
I look forward to the month ahead as we’ll explore together the power of prevention and why taking care of yourself and your brain is so important.
Sincerely, |
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Caroline Cameron |
P.S. On January 23rd, I’ll be moderating a webinar discussing what’s next for dementia care in Ontario. You won’t want to miss it! Sign up today. |
| READ MY STORY |
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Active Living - January Program Calendar |
We have now made it easier for you to access our upcoming Active Living Programs with a Monthly calendar. Click here to view our January Event Calendar. For more information please contact the Active Living Program Coordinators, Kristin Bartlett kbartlett@alz.to or Tracey-Adams Thibaudeau at tadams-thibaudeau@alz.to. |
| VIEW CALENDAR |
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Mid-Town Social
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Wednesday, January 10, 2024 5:00 P.M. - 7:00 P.M. Alzheimer Society of Toronto Head Office - 20 Eglinton Ave W, 16th Floor, Toronto, ON, M4R 1K8 |
Mid-Town Social focuses on social wellness for people with mild to moderate Dementia and their care partners. We create purposeful connections among people who are on similar journeys while participating in a variety of engaging activities. The program is flexible and will be catered to the interests and needs of the group participants. |
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The Royal Conservatory - Rebanks Fellows Concert (IN-PERSON) |
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Monday, January 15, 2024 3:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M. The Royal Conservatory of Music located at 273 Bloor St W. |
Enjoy a 45-minute chamber music recital by one of the 2023-24 Rebanks Fellows, followed by a short Q&A session led by Program Manager Jessica Wright. The 2023-24 Rebanks Fellows are: Elena Howard-Scott, soprano; Noa Sarid, violin; Christian Masucci Facchini, countertenor; Julia Mirzoev, violin; Jamal Al Titi, baritone; Tobias Elser, violin. For more information about this program please contact Kristin Bartlett at kbartlett@alz.to. |
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Find Your Inner Songbird (IN-PERSON) |
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Tuesday, January 16, 23 & 30, 2024 Alzheimer Society of Toronto Head Office - 20 Eglinton Ave W, 16th Floor, Toronto, ON, M4R 1K8 |
Work one-on-one with professional singer and songwriter Robin Dann to create your own original song. Participate in 3 sessions filled with conversation, singing, composition, and recording. At the end of the three sessions, Robin will provide you with a demo recording of the song you have written and recorded collaboratively. No prior musical experience or education necessary! Come as you are. |
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Find Your Inner Songbird (IN-PERSON) |
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Tuesday, January 30, 2024
February 6, & 13, 2024
Alzheimer Society of Toronto Head Office - 20 Eglinton Ave W, 16th Floor, Toronto, ON, M4R 1K8 |
Work one-on-one with professional singer and songwriter Robin Dann to create your own original song. Participate in 3 sessions filled with conversation, singing, composition, and recording. At the end of the three sessions, Robin will provide you with a demo recording of the song you have written and recorded collaboratively. No prior musical experience or education necessary! Come as you are. |
| REGISTER |
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Virtual Art Talks with the AGO |
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Tuesday, Jan 16th from 2:00 P.M. - 3:00P.M. |
Join us on Zoom for an engaging virtual art talk and more in-depth experience of the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). The AGO will help explore their collection through conversation, exchanging ideas and observations about the selected artworks. This program is designed for people living with dementia and their caregivers. The art talk is facilitated by an experienced AGO Art Educator. |
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Making Strides - Winter in the Westend (IN-PERSON) |
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Weekly on Thursdays January 11 - February 15, 2024 (6-week series) 11:00 A.M. - 12:30 P.M. Trinity Community Rec Centre (155 Crawford St, Toronto, ON M6J 1G3) we will meet at the main lobby. |
Join us for an in-person 6-part walking series, enjoy activating your bodies and socializing. Get your steps in and then enjoy a chat and a drink on us! This series is appropriate for people living with dementia and their care partners who love walking! We will start with a warm-up and then walk for 45 minutes, so please come prepared with comfortable supportive shoes and a bottle of water. |
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Making Strides - Winter Walkers, Eastside (IN-PERSON) |
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Weekly on Fridays
January 19 - February 23, 2024
(6-week series)
11:00 A.M. - 12:30 P.M.
Scarborough Town Centre, Toronto
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Join us for an in-person 6-part walking series and enjoy activating your body and staying social. Get your steps in and then enjoy a chat and a drink afterwards - on us! This series is appropriate for people living with dementia and their care partners who love walking! We will start with a warm-up and then walk for 45 minutes, so please come prepared with comfortable supportive shoes and a bottle of water. |
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Movement, Minds & Magic (IN-PERSON) |
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Mondays
January 15 - March 11, 2024
(8-week series)
1:30 P.M. - 3:30 P.M. |
Movement, Minds & Magic is a program that combines the benefits of physical and cognitive exercise, socializing and expressive arts. This program is co-facilitated by Jenn Hicks (a Certified Personal Trainer) and Robin Gertin (a Certified Expressive Arts Therapist) who have over 20 years of collective experience working with seniors and those living with dementia. The program includes:
- 45 minutes of creative physical activity (with both seated and standing options),
- a break to have a snack and socialize
- 45 minutes of social cognitive activity including conversation and an art-based activity that does not require any prior experience.
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Workshop: Mindfulness and Meditation for Care Partners (ONLINE) |
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Tuesday,
January 9, 2024
11:00 A.M. - 12:30 P.M.
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This hands-on, interactive workshop is for family caregivers caring for people living with dementia. The overarching goal is for caregivers to feel more relaxed and grounded at the end of the workshop, and to learn 1 or more relaxation and meditation techniques to continue to use on their own. This workshop will be presented online via Zoom. |
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Workshop: Meaningful Activities for Care Partners (ONLINE) |
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Thursday,
January 11, 2024
1:00 P.M. - 2:30 P.M. |
This workshop will help care partners of a person with dementia in mid-to-late stages to develop and participate in meaningful activities. The goal is to provide practical ideas on how participants can spend quality time together by identifying and drawing upon the person’s remaining strengths. This workshop will be presented online via Zoom. |
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Advanced Care Planning for Care Partners (ONLINE) |
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Thursday,
January 18, 2024
10:00 A.M. - 11:30 A.M.
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This workshop will review the importance of Advance Care Planning, and the steps involved in the process, in the case where one becomes mentally incapable of making their health care decisions. This workshop will be presented online via Zoom. |
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JOURNEY for Care Partners
(ONLINE) |
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Thursday,
January 25, 2024
10:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M. |
This interactive 2 hour workshop will incorporate a U-First and P.I.E.C.E.S approach to help participants reflect on all aspects of their well-being. Through this guided reflection process, participants will identify opportunities for change and start creating a plan to attaining better balance in their lives. This workshop will be presented online via Zoom and In-person in our office at 20 Eglinton Ave West, Toronto, ON M4R 1K8 (16th floor). |
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Workshop: Finding Joy and Humour in Dementia Care (ONLINE) |
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Tuesday,
January 30, 2024
10:00 A.M. - 11:30 A.M.
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This educational workshop is for care partners of individuals living with dementia with a focus on looking at the lighter side of caregiving. This workshop will be presented online via Zoom. |
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GET TO KNOW YOUR FRIENDS AT AST |
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Our staff of the month for January is Julie Wong. |
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When did you join AST and what is your role? I joined in February 2012 and I am currently the Education and Regional Support Lead.
What intrigued you to join AST? I have always worked in education in some shape or form so I wanted to continue that and given my personal connection to dementia, joining AST made sense.
What is your favorite part of working at AST? Working alongside really talented and passionate colleagues. AST has a great culture and is quite supportive of their staff and encourages creativity and innovation
Fun question - favourite song? Favourite memory? Favourite food? Favourite movie/show? I find it really hard to come up with a favourite anything as I like to much but if I were to say my favourite memories are tied to Chinese holidays as there is always good food and competitive gaming with my family! |
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If you could have a vacation home, where would it be? There is still more of the world that I would love to see so I’m going to settle on a place I’d really love to go which is the Galapagos Islands
Staff testimonial “There are 3 words that sums Julie: “Resourceful”, “ Energy bomb” and “Supportive”! - Nouchine Davarpanah, Public Education Coordinator.
“Julie is the ultimate multitasker - she manages a number of roles at AST - manager of public education, partnerships liaison, Luminate Pro, Care Partner App developer and promoter and most recently an AlayaCare Super User - she does all this while parenting her three beautiful daughters and still managing to create and post pictures of her culinary masterpieces! It’s not unusual to receive an email or TEAMS message at 10:30 in the evening because Julie is still working!! Julie is a pleasure to work with and a true asset to AST!” Colette Cameron, First Link and Social Work Manager. |
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Thank you to the Moose and Goose Club for a fantastic evening! |
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On Thursday, November 30th, the Moose and Goose Club held its 62nd Annual Black-Tie Dinner and once again Alzheimer Society of Toronto were the charity of choice of this wonderful event. We are very grateful to Raj Sharma, Chairman and all members of the Moose and Goose Club for welcoming our CEO, Dave Spedding to the event and inviting him to speak about the work of AST. Over $120,000 has been raised to support our work from this event over the past five years, and the impact has been incredible. Thank you to Moose and Goose for their ongoing support of Alzheimer Society of Toronto. |
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Join us for an upcoming webinar moderated by Caroline Cameron, host of Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey on Sportsnet.
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Join us for our upcoming Speaker Series webinar, “Update on dementia treatments: Current options and progress”, where we discuss the latest updates on dementia treatments and provide an update on the “Roadmap Towards a Renewed Ontario Dementia Strategy”.
The session will be moderated by Caroline Cameron, host of Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey on Sportsnet.
Webinar Details:
Date: Tuesday, January 23, 2023, at 6-7 p.m. (EST)/ 5-6 p.m. (CST) Where: ALZeducate. It’s free and easy to make an online account with ALZeducate and get access to educational courses and training programs suited to your needs.
Intended Audience: General public, including people living with dementia, care partners, and health care professionals.
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Do you know someone who would benefit from online learning in French?
We have them on ALZeducate!
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Did you know ALZeducate offers online education in French?
Please find the details below on the upcoming Dementia Overview session:
When: January 24, 2024, 2-3pm
Where: ALZeducate. It’s free and easy to make an online account with ALZeducate and get access to educational courses and training programs suited to your needs.
What: Dementia Overview (In French) This presentation will discuss the difference between changes that come with normal aging and when something is not normal, reversible causes for these changes, and a general understanding of dementia. It also will cover the different types of dementia, progression, and knowledge of dementia symptoms and their impact on the person living with dementia.
Intended Audience: General Public
Please pass this along to anyone you know that would benefit from online learning in French!
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Volunteer with us in 2024! |
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Did you know that you can volunteer with the Alzheimer Society?
Volunteers play a crucial role at the Alzheimer Society. They help expand the reach of programs and services, speak out in public or keep our offices functioning.
We are always looking for enthusiastic and caring individuals who are open to supporting events, programs, or day-to-day office tasks. If you are looking for a way to give back to your community, either regularly or occasionally, consider filling out a volunteer application.
Whether it is once a week or once a year, volunteering makes a difference!
Learn more about how to support your community by becoming a volunteer.
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| VOLUNTEER TODAY! |
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The Alzheimer Society Research Portal
The Alzheimer Society Research Portal connects researchers with Canadians looking to participate in research studies. Click here to find out more about participating in a research study, or the research studies available. |
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IT'S UP TO ALL OF US TO COME TOGETHER NOW. #OURCONNECTIONSMATTER |
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