With over 850,000 people in the UK estimated to be living with dementia right now, we have likely all experienced the impact of dementia in some capacity at one time or another, with research suggesting it will affect 1 in 2 people in our lifetimes.

This means that, at Merry Maids UK, we regularly encounter clients and family struggling or living with dementia or Alzheimer’s.

As such, we have been a long-time supporter of the charity Dementia Friends (which is a subset of Alzheimer’s Society).

Who are Dementia Friends?

Dementia Friends is an initiative that trains businesses and organisations and the people who work for them in the right ways to interact with people with dementia.

Merry Maids UK began working alongside Dementia Friends in 2014 when a friend of Debbie Walker, the owner of Merry Maids of Croydon, started looking into the charity whilst researching for her PhD on the health of older adults.

Our duty of care to our customers is something we value deeply, so we jumped at the chance to receive training from Dementia Friends to aid our cleans.

Soon, we were becoming dementia friends nationwide.

What is the Forget Me Knot Challenge?

This year, we wanted to do more.

That’s why we have created the Forget Me Knot Challenge.

Alzheimer’s Society is represented by the forget me not, a small blue flower that has long been associated with Alzheimer’s and dementia due to its effects of memory loss.

This is a sponsored virtual relay in which staff and owners from Merry Maids businesses across the UK will run, walk, or cycle the equivalent total mileage between each Merry Maids UK business, tying them together and raising funds for Dementia Friends/ Alzheimer’s Society: creating the Forget Me Knot.

How to support us?

With the challenge now underway, our businesses will cover 335 miles each to raise money over the coming months.

To support us, please visit our Just Giving page to donate online.

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