The 2018 “Pulling for Dementia” event takes place on September 14 and the Alzheimer Society of Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland and Haliburton is looking for teams to take part.
Industries, businesses and families are encouraged to make up a team and take part. Using a single rope, each team of 10-12 people has to pull a 20-ton fire truck over a measured distance. The team that does it the quickest is the winner.
Experienced puller Matt Pritchard says a successful team is a diverse team. “A good team is going to combine forces with male and female and some of all ages, right, you want to have a range of skill level as far as good athleticism, but anyone can be involved in this cause you want heart and desire with which to compete,” says Pritchard, of Pritchard’s Performance Coaching.
Three out of four Canadians know someone with dementia. While the event is a fundraiser, the Alzheimer Society sees it as an awareness raiser as well. With an ageing population, the province of Ontario is facing an exponential growth of those with dementia.
Leslie Parham. executive director of the Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland and Haliburton chapter of the Alzheimer Society, says the time is right for a national strategy on dementia. “It’s a very fragmented approach to care across Canada. In terms of funding, it’s left for the provinces to decide, and they have their unique challenges. A national strategy will support people across the country with equity,” says Parham.
Anyone wishing to register a team for “Pulling for Dementia” can call the Alzheimer Society at 705-748-5131.