RTÉ star Dáithí Ó Sé is calling on the nation to show solidarity with people with dementia and their family carers and virtually have Tea in Every Town with their friends and loved ones to mark Alzheimer’s Tea Day which takes place across Ireland on Thursday, 6th May and is proudly sponsored by Fujitsu Ireland.
It is estimated that there are 7,509 people living with dementia in Cork and for every one person with dementia three others are directly affected. The number of people with the condition will more than double in the next 25 years to over 150,000 by 2045.
This year The Alzheimer Society of Ireland is inviting the public to brew the most important and powerful cup of tea this year and invite your family and friends to join you online. The ASI wants people to now come together virtually to celebrate, remember and show solidarity with people with dementia, their carers and the 500,000 people who are impacted by dementia in Ireland.
Although people can’t gather in groups for Tea Day, people can still connect and reach out to friends and loved ones across their communities, around Ireland and abroad – on the phone, on screen, Skype, Zoom and any other socially-distanced way people may choose.
There are 64,000 people living with dementia in Ireland today and every day, another 30 people are diagnosed. However, there is one simple and magical thing you can do to help – put the kettle on and connect with friends online over a simple cuppa!
The ASI has listened to concerns of people with dementia and family carers who have been feeling isolated in their own homes lately and many people have contacted The ASI about Tea Day – and thanks to the wonders of modern technology we are delighted that Tea Day can take place.
This year, it’s more important than ever before that people put the kettle on, pick up the phone and reach out to a loved one or someone in your community to say hello and share a virtual cup of tea and to show people with dementia and carers who are at home, often confused, isolated and struggling without access to usual daily supports that we haven’t forgotten them.
The ASI needs to raise €3.5 million every year just to keep services running and while the public has been so generous over recent months; the reality is that more funds are needed to plug the gap in funding due to the impact of Covid-19 to support the 64,000 living with dementia in Ireland.
HOW TO TAKE PART IN TEA DAY 2021 – FOUR EASY STEPS:
- SIGN UP – Join the nation for the most memorable cuppa ever. All you have to do is sign up on teaday.ie and you’ll be helping to support people in your area living with dementia.
- HOST – Share the magic of a cup of tea – online – with the ones you love. Invite family, friends, colleagues, neighbours and loved ones – from home and from all over the world – to join you to share some precious memories over a wonderful cup of tea.
- CELEBRATE your Tea Day by sharing it on social media. Post your photos, videos, messages and don’t forget to use our hashtags #TeaInEveryTown #TeaDay2021
- DONATE Send us back your special Tea Day donation on teaday.ie. Remember, every extra euro you raise funds vital services for people living with dementia and their families.
The Alzheimer Society of Ireland Ambassador, Dáithí Ó Sé said: “On Thursday, May 6th, join your online gathering to thousands of others all over the country as we share a cuppa with our friends, family and colleagues to chat and celebrate those we love. You’ll also be raising much-needed funds to help families living with dementia. Tea Day is The Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland’s biggest and most important fundraiser of the year. Over the last year, because of COVID-19, they could only raise a fraction of what is needed to run their vital services. So, this year people living with dementia need our support more than ever. So please join the Tea Day movement. Click with your family and friends by clicking online. Maybe even invite loved ones across the world. Share some precious memories over a cuppa and help change the life of someone living with dementia today. Thank you so much!”
The Alzheimer Society of Ireland CEO Pat McLoughlin said: “Alzheimer’s Tea Day has been our biggest fundraising event over the last 27 years and the organisation is so dependent on the funds that it brings in each and every year. However, the Covid-19 health crisis means that Alzheimer’s Tea Day has to move online, but I am delighted that we can still celebrate the community spirit that makes Tea Day such a great national event through modern technology. This year we can’t gather in each other’s homes to share Tea Day. But there is still something that you can do. You can invite friends and family from all over Ireland – and even all over the world – to join you online or on social media to share some memories and a cuppa. Every person who joins you will be helping to support vital dementia services all over Ireland.”
Fujitsu Ireland CEO Tony O’Malley said: “We are incredibly proud to support this vital campaign alongside The Alzheimer Society of Ireland. People with dementia and their families, carers and supporters have felt the challenges of lockdown and the associated restrictions on travel, household visitors and daily social interactions most keenly and Fujitsu Ireland is committed to helping The ASI continue to deliver its vital support to this amazing community. We invite our staff, clients, partners and the Irish public to sign up on teaday.ie, put the kettle on, and raise much-needed funds for this incredible organisation.”
