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United – Caring For Our Loved Ones Living with Dementia by Gina Awad and Tony Husband Available NOW

Exeter City Football Club Dementia Match Day

img_9165What a fabulous afternoon we had at Exeter City Football Club last weekend for our dementia-focused match day.

Grateful thanks to the Club, Supporters Trust and Exeter City Football in the Community. We would like to thank our super group of volunteers on what was a chilly but very special day all round. Exeter City Council officially joined the Alliance during halftime, and we look forward to working with them as members in the future to achieve a more dementia friendly Exeter.

In partnership with the Club, the Alliance was able to offer over 40 people living with dementia along with their families complimentary tickets to watch the game. Attendees came from across the city; from care homes and local groups to enjoy the match.

One carer said “It was such a lovely day yesterday. My father cannot remember how long it is since he last saw a football match, but he thinks it is at least 60 years. It is the only time my father and my son have had ‘man time’ together as well. For me, the day is a memory that I will always want to retain, along with the photos and the Exeter City FC hat I bought my father. He simply loved it every moment of the day, the hot dog, the hot chocolate, the game and spending time with family. My son, the football fan, is now trying to get the rest of the family along to a game to enjoy the atmosphere, so maybe Exeter City FC will have some new fans as well. Thank you for making a magical day for us all”

David Barenskie, Head of Dementia Care at Green Tree Court said “Our three gentlemen had a splendid time. They particularly enjoyed the buzz from the other supporters as they sang their songs and made their concerns known to the referee when they felt a decision was wrong. A nice cup of hot chocolate at half time went down well. The gents said the only thing missing was a goal from Exeter City”.

Jaz Lemin, Registered Manager at Dove Tree House said “Thank you for inviting us along to football. We all really enjoyed it, in fact it was fantastic. Both gentlemen loved the game and atmosphere along with myself. They said it was nice to do something a little bit different and the weather didn’t deter them. Geoff never really says much and when he does it is slow and very quiet, but on speaking to the staff who worked on Saturday they said that he came back grinning from ear to ear and he said that he had a lovely time just a shame they didn’t score. Geoff’s wife Olive also said that it was a wonderful afternoon and she could see how much Geoff was enjoying the day. As for John, he was absolutely overjoyed by it, and was telling the night staff on Saturday all about it.”