Kelly Armstrong, General Manager, The Pars Foundation:- “We are delighted to be the first Scottish club to be recognised with the Dementia Friends award. We want to ensure that everyone who comes to East End Park feels included and valued.
People living with and affected with dementia are often isolated from the wider community due to the lack of understanding and stigma, we as a club have an important role to play to help raise awareness and increase understanding. There were over 15 members of Club and Foundation staff that completed the course with many more taking part in the online training. There was a number of key partners involved in this process including Fife Council, Alzheimer Scotland”Kenny Mclachlan Care Logistics Manager, Co-op Funeralcare Dunfermline:- “Ruth McCabe from Fife Council contacted Co-op Funeralcare to ask if we would take part in the Dementia Friendly Fife initiative. Ruth worked with us to make all our local Care Centres and branches Dementia Friendly and our colleagues Dementia Friends. Ruth asked if I was aware of any other local businesses who may wish to join the programme, I was proud to nominate The Pars Foundation and Dunfermline Athletic and to then work with the club and with Ruth in an advisory capacity
We should all be proud that Dunfermline Athletic are the first professional football club in the country to achieve the accreditation
The Co-op are delighted to be associated with both Fife Council and The Pars Foundation/Dunfermline Athletic”Anne McWhinnie, Dementia Friends Programme Manager from Alzheimer Scotland, said: “We are delighted that The Pars Foundation and Dunfermline Football Club have taken steps to become a dementia-friendly football club to help support people living with dementia and their families continue attending match days to support their club.
“Creating an inclusive and dementia-friendly environment at the stadium will go some way to help make people living with the illness feel recognised, valued and understood in their community. Our Dementia Friends Scotland programme and Dementia Friendly Communities efforts, are a crucial step towards building a dementia-friendly Scotland, where nobody should face dementia alone.”
