Seeking volunteers

We are seeking the support of more volunteers, with and without a diagnosis of dementia.

Dementia Alliance International, an advocacy and support organisation, of by and for people with dementia. We are also a registered not for profit organisation thanks to the very generous donation by Dr Richard Taylor PhD. 

A few of our Board members, and some members of our Circle of Friends already volunteer significant amounts of time and expertise to run DAI, and some are working for huge amounts of time to run this group. 

We also currently have some very generous support from one person without dementia, who has informed us she will only be available to continue with assistance until July this year.

We have no regular funding, although last year a few members personally raised enough funds to support six members to attend ADI Puerto Rico, and this year, we have had limited funding from ADI since our collaboration with them, also only for use to support members to ADI Perth and certainly not enough for more than a very few to be able to attend, plus attendance at the two WHO meetings.

It can be frustrating trying to be an active member of any group, but specifically in this one due to our own symptoms of dementia it can be more difficult. 

Everything takes much longer. Sometimes we forget to do things we promised we'd do. Sometimes we even forget we said we'd do them. Members might find it frustrating, and due to their own symptoms of dementia, may not be able to be more supportive in the running of the group, but as members, they still expect a lot. Sometimes there are misunderstandings, personalities get in the way, and the D-factor is hard for us ALL to live with, even those members working hard to live better with dementia than others think possible.

We ALL have dark days, when it seems it would be easier to give up and cry.

The more we give to each other, to this organisation, and indeed to our own communities, the more we get back, and we need more people to give of their time and expertise to support the work of a very few members. Please consider actively volunteering rather than waiting for someone to contact you.

Specifically, we need people who would be able and willing to undertake some administrative support including the following;

1. Support as required for taking and typing up minutes of meetings (in Australia, this is often at 6am - athough we record the meetings, so they can be done after!), assisting with editing and other administrative assistance as required.

2. Support with social media and our website

3. Mentoring new members

4. Managing our online programs, including setting up the Event brite invitations, managing the time zones, etc. To give you an idea of what this entails;

   • We have a monthly Webinar called A Meeting of the Minds, usually with guest speakers

   • We run weekly support groups in two time zones

   • We run monthly cafes called Cafe Le Brain

   • During Dementia Awareness Month in 2014, we ran weekly Master classes and would need assistance with this if we repeat them later this year

   • We have a YouTube channel which occasionally requires support, e.g. uploading of new videos

5. Some support with newsletters, marketing, and any other thing that might be requested of us, including presentations and other material to support attending or presenting at conferences.

Also, an update on the Wish Project we were working on, including the possibility of producing a book of wishes and images, is not for any organisation to use to sell, if it gets completed, it will be for promoting our members wishes. However, if there was a suitable way DAI could turn that into revenue raising, obviously with appropriate consents, it may be worth considering. All funds would go to members and services; it costs money on a monthly basis to run DAI, which we don't have other than from some generous but only occasional donors.

If you don't have time to volunteer, but can afford to make a donation, then please do so. If you are attending any of our Webinars, and can afford to donate at the time you register, then also please consider doing so as it costs us money to run these events, for which we currently have no regular funding. 

What we can't do alone, we can do together.