Founder of the Forget Me Not Ball Sarah Church is connecting younger generation to what is mostly considered a disease for the elderly, all while with raising money and awareness for Dementia Australia.
Sarah’s purpose to organise this fundraiser comes from her much-loved mother Theresa, who in 2015, aged just 55 years old, was diagnosed with early onset Frontotemporal Dementia. As soon as her mother was diagnosed, Sarah launched herself into reading and learning everything she could about the disease. “I was 25, Mum was in her mid-50s. I thought only ‘old people’ got dementia.”
This led Sarah to take part in the Memory Walk & Jog which raises funds for Dementia Australia. “I felt like I wanted to create awareness and continue to raise funds and I had the capacity to do more, which became the driving force behind Forget Me Not ball.”
Sarah is passionate about having people involved that have their heart in the cause. “My mum is kind-hearted, loving, funny and genuine and the fact that all those qualities will be taken from her by dementia is heartbreaking. I want to leave a legacy for her and I hope this will be it,” she said. “My vision for the event was simple; raise money and raise awareness. I wanted to raise awareness that dementia doesn’t just affect the elderly and that it can be diagnosed in your 30s, 40s and 50s.”
Sarah is passionate about educating others on the effect’s dementia has she wishes that people knew that dementia is the term used to describe the symptoms of a large group of illnesses which cause a progressive decline in a person’s functioning. She said, “It is the second leading cause for death in Australians”.
This year’s Forget Me Not Ball will take place at The Calile Hotel on Saturday 28 September.
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