WIREDGOV

An innovative project offering companionship to older people with dementia is one of 15 across Scotland sharing in £580,259 of Young Start funding. The award of  £49,998 to Alzheimer Scotland Action on Dementia is announced at the start of Dementia Awareness Week (18 to 25 May) and will be delivered across Glasgow and West Lothian.

Run by the Big Lottery Fund Scotland, Young Start awards money from dormant bank and building society accounts to support a range of projects that help young people aged eight to 24 reach their full potential.

Alzheimer Scotland Action on Dementia will deliver a befriending project where 50 young volunteers will attend care homes to offer companionship to older people with dementia. This will include young people experimenting with iPads and iPods as a way to encourage personal musical memories and also to connect with family members using skype who are unable to visit their older relatives. 

Jennifer Hawksworth, Volunteer Co-ordinator for Alzheimer Scotland Action on Dementia,said:  “This grant is a fantastic opportunity to continue and extend the work we are already doing with young people and care home residents with dementia in Glasgow and West Lothian. Engagement with young people provides immeasurable pleasure to people with dementia and they are able to provide such fascinating insights into their own young lives, which were so very different than they are today.”

Chair of Big Lottery Fund Scotland, Maureen McGinn, said: “Today’s funding will help young people unlock their talents and support them to realise their potential.  The Alzheimer Scotland Action on Dementia project is a great example of strengthening connections between the generations.  Young people will build confidence and gain a greater appreciation of older people with dementia in a care home environment. This will not only have a positive impact for young people but it will also improve the quality of lives of people living with dementia.”

A list of other projects which have received funding today is available here.

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 0141 242 1484  
Website:                                    www.biglotteryfund.org.uk  
Twitter:                                     @BIGScotland #biglottery
Facebook:                                 www.facebook.com/BigLotteryFundScotland

Notes to editors

• Dormant accounts are defined in the Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Act 2008 as those which have seen no customer-initiated activity for at least 15 years. 
• In September 2011 the Scottish Government formally issued instructions to the Big Lottery Fund to distribute dormant accounts funding for the benefit of Scotland’s voluntary and community sector.
• The Reclaim Fund Ltd. (RFL), which was established in March 2011 to receive and invest dormant account balances across the UK, transferred the first tranche of monies from dormant bank and building society accounts to BIG on 2 August 2011. Scotland will receive an 8.4% share of the total funds to be distributed.
• The Distribution of Dormant Account Money (Apportionment) Order 2011 prescribes that Scotland will receive 8.4% of the dormant accounts money to be made available for distribution by the Big Lottery Fund under the 2008 Act. The estimated grants budget for 2014/15 is £4.8m. It should be noted that this figure is a median projection and may go up or down.
• The Fund is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK. Since its inception in 2004 it has awarded close to £6bn.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, £33 billion has been raised and more than 450,000 grants awarded.