Get hooked on Crochet!

New Crochet classes for beginners and intermediate, starting on Thursday February 2nd,  at our offices (Drogheda & District Support 4 Older People, Unit 7 The Haymarket, Drogheda). Time: 2pm to 4pm.

Everyone is very welcome so come along and get into the crochet loop.

For more details contact: 0419847764

Check out the photos taken at our 5 year anniversary Gala Evening! It was a wonderful event and we would like to thank everyone for their support.

Photos!

Maurice McMahon Felda Health Fitness & Spa, Anne McEntegart Smyth’s Life Pharmacy, Michael Gaynor Dundalk Chamber, Joan McEvoy Drogheda & District Support 4 Older People, Orla Hayes Carrickdale Hotel & Spa, Rodd Bond Netwell Centre

The Louth Business Awards 2016, hosted by Dundalk Chamber of Commerce, took place last Saturday during a black-tie event in the Carrickdale Hotel.  We are delighted that we won the Age Friendly Award which was sponsored by Myhomecare.ie.  Picture shows Joan McEvoy (DDS4OP) with the award.

Great news!  Make Drogheda a dementia friendly town.

The Age Friendly Programme is hosting the Dementia Elevator Roadshow in the Marshes next Tuesday 27^th September between 10.00am and 2.00pm. The objective of the event is to raise everyone’s knowledge of dementia up one notch.

On the day local and national experts in Dementia will provide details of local supports and national free online training.

Every day eleven people over 65 are being diagnosed with Dementia. There are already 48,000 people living with Dementia in Ireland.  You may know some people in your own family or community. In general, there is no advice provided to family when a diagnosis is made.

Can you believe we’ve been providing our services to Drogheda and the surrounding area for five years?

We are delighted to let you know that we are holding a Gala Evening to celebrate this milestone.

Why not come along to this fun event? We appreciate all the support you have given us during the last five years and hope we can continue to count on this.

Befriending Drogheda

We are delighted with the response to our First Aid Training day for Befriending Volunteers.  It has filled up very quickly. It is great to see how enthusiastic and interested these volunteers are in being the best “Befrienders” they can be.  It looks like it will be a great learning day and an opportunity for getting to know each other better too.

More training days will follow for our volunteers.  You can join our great Befriending team by contacting us now.  Check out what we do here.

This great weather encourages us to get out and about but remember to take care of older people in the sun.  Here are a few tips for taking care in the hot weather.

Stay out of the sun, if possible. If you have to go out stay in the shade or wait until the evening when it is cooler.

Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of cool water, clear juices, and other liquids that don’t contain alcohol or caffeine. Cool or tepid drinks are better than ice cold ones. Remember alcohol and caffeine can dehydrate you (dry you out) so avoid them.

Whenever you can, try wearing loose, light-coloured clothes (dark-coloured clothes absorb heat). Natural fabric like cotton is best.

Use broad spectrum sunscreen with sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or higher. Remember to protect your face and ears.

To cool down, try taking a tepid (not too cold or too hot) showers, baths, or sponge baths. If you don’t have time for that then just use a wet washcloths or towels with cool water and put them on your wrists, ankles, armpits, and neck.

Take care of yourselves.

Gerry Mulroy is heading off on a new adventure tomorrow and raising funds for DDS4OP. Check out his blog here!

Would you share some of your free time with an older person who may be lonely?

We are looking for volunteers to visit older people for one hour each week. We need both men and women and our volunteer Befrienders are trained and Garda vetted to provide a confidential visit in the surroundings of a person’s own home.

Befrienders are not carers or home help so can focus on making a personal connection and a friendship with people who often have no one to talk to.

Can you spare one hour a week?