"Sometimes my papa doesn’t know who I am, but he knows that he loves me. He calls me his wee darling and he says I’m the best in the world."
Lucy, aged 10 from Fife, has been using her creativity and love of reading to fundraise for Alzheimer Scotland, and raise awareness of dementia at the same time. Lucy’s grandfather, Hugh, is 81 years old and living with vascular dementia. Lucy and Hugh are very close and enjoy listening to music and dancing together.
Lucy recalls, “One time when I put the Macarena on in my bedroom and taught him the dance. We performed out the window together!”
Paul, Hugh’s son and Lucy’s dad, said, “It can be really difficult at times, and as a family we talk about it a lot. We discuss everything that’s going to happen in advance and involve Lucy in every aspect of his life. Lucy is a fantastic help to my dad and has a way of calming things down when the adults are finding it hard. Needless to say, I am immensely proud of her fundraising efforts.”
Lucy is a keen reader, her favourite author is Jaqueline Wilson. For her fundraiser she turned her hand to writing, penning a story to read to her class at school. She also made bookmarks to sell to her classmates.
Lucy’s awareness raising sparked lots of discussion among the class about what dementia is, how dementia impacts their lives, and what they could do to help people like Hugh.
Lucy said, “Raising the money and awareness of dementia has made me feel really good and I think it makes everyone feel that way too. Dementia affects a lot of people in different ways, I think sharing stories and talking about my experiences has helped everyone share theirs too.”
Lucy raised £40 for Alzheimer Scotland and has already started planning her next fundraising venture. We can’t wait to see what she does next!
