Being a Music for Dementia champion

You are a game changer

With the number of people living with dementia set only to rise, we have to work together to make music readily available for everyone living with dementia.

Once you’ve declared your support for getting music into the ears and lives of people living with dementia, the work begins.

What does it entail?

A Music for Dementia Champion learns about how music can help people living with dementia so they can tell others in their community, their workplace, their family, friends and online networks.

Music is truly the gift that keeps on giving and the more people who sign up or talk about its unique contribution to people’s lives, the more the awareness grows.

The suggested actions below needn’t be time-consuming and we hope you will be able to come up with some ideas of your own, too. Come on – let’s make some noise together!

How you can help us

1. Add your name to our Champions for the campaign by completing the form below

2. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and/or Facebook and share posts with your constituents as often as you can

3. Issue a local media press release announcing your role as a Champion #MusicforDementiaChamp (download a template press release)

4. Send a letter to the Director of Adult Social Services in your area asking them to include music in the dementia strategy covering your constituency (download a template letter)

5. When lockdown restrictions allow, visit a project or service providing music for people with dementia in your constituency. Contact us if you need help finding one or look on our Musical Map

1. Add your name to our Champions for the campaign by completing the form below (and upload a picture of yourself so we can display it on our supporters page)

2. Make a quick video pledging your support and upload it to social media including the hashtags #musicfordementia #Music4DementiaChamp

3. Allow us to use your video to show the world this matters to people (send it to [email protected])

4. Insta support – can you mention us in an Instagram story or two? @musicforDementiaUK with a link to www.musicfordementia.org.uk

5. Include friends – encourage them to become a Champion with you

6. Your words speak volumes – share a quote with us that we can use to promote the power of music for people with dementia

Ways you can make a difference:

1. Add your name to our Champions for the campaign by completing the form below. Don’t forget to upload your logo, too

2. Become an advocate for the campaign – tell everyone you are a Music for Dementia Champion and encourage them to join you in speaking about the power of music.

3. Talk to your care setting(s) about the power of music in dementia care

4. Sign up to the Musical Care Taskforce

5. Use as many of our resources as you can to spread the word and ask others to take action

6. Follow us – and share posts from our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts

7. Tell your story – about how you have seen people with dementia react to your music. Tag us on social media or send it to [email protected]

8. Amplify to help us grow – ask 5 people (preferably more) to sign up to the campaign to help raise awareness and understanding of how music helps.

9. Share these 2 key facts:

  • Music based interventions for people living with dementia have been shown to improve general attention, cognition, memory, speech and communication skills.
  • Through regular singing, depression levels can be reduced by 40% in care settings

How you can make a difference:

1. Sign up as a Champion on the form below and encourage 5 people to become a Champion with you

2. Embed music into your care and write musical preferences in people’s care plans, including which songs might help with everyday tasks such as washing and dressing

3. Share stories of the impact of your musical activities and advocate the use of music in dementia care whenever you can to colleagues, managers, trustees, family members etc.

4. Add your organisation’s logo to our website

5. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and/or Facebook from your personal and organisational accounts

6. Use as many of our campaigning resources as you can to spread the word and ask others to take action

7. Use the Musical Guide as a source of inspiration for how to include a musical activity every day – as part of a group or 1-1

8. Delve into this website and resources to learn how to create personalised playlists for residents / clients. Encourage family members to contribute or create playlists themselves

Remember! You don’t have to be ‘musical’ to include music in care – just give it a go!

Ways you can make a difference:

1. Advocate the use of music in dementia care whenever you can to colleagues, managers, trustees etc.

2. Add your organisation’s logo to our website

3. Follow us on social media from your personal and organisational accounts

Ways you can make a difference:

1. Add your name to our Champions for the campaign by completing the form below. Don’t forget to upload you organisation’s logo so we can display it on our supporters page

2. A quote goes a long way – your words matter and providing a quote for us to use on our website will show people that this matters to you and people across the music world. If it matters to you, it should matter to them, too. (You can add a quote to your Champions sign up)

3. Become an advocate for the campaign – tell everyone you are a Music for Dementia Champion and encourage them to join you in speaking about the power of music (point people to this website for more info)

4. Encourage fellow industry pros to join you in becoming a Champion by signposting them to the website

5. Share our social posts on Twitter, Instagram and/or Facebook

6. Tell us if you would like to be involved in media activity around the campaign

7. Galvanise trade or representative groups you belong to to recognise the importance of music in dementia care and support by association and positive action

Ways you can make a difference:

1. Add your name to our Champions by completing the form below

2. Become an advocate for the campaign – tell everyone you are a Music for Dementia Champion and encourage them to join you in speaking about the power of music.

3. Ask 5 people (preferably more) to sign up to the campaign to help raise awareenss and understanding of how music helps

4. Use as many of our campaigning resources as you can to spread the word and ask others to take action

5. Follow us on social and share posts from our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts

6. Tag us in any social media posts that you see showing the power of music in dementia care

7. Add our campaign frame to your Facebook profile picture for a month

8. Share our resources such as the Musical Guide, Musical Map for Dementia and m4d Radio

Sign up to become a Champion below

We would love you to add a comment, your organisation’s logo or a video in support of Music for Dementia, if you can.

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