Robotic cats ensure high profile for Rotary and dementia alleviation
A Yorkshire Rotary club is spearheading a campaign to alleviate the suffering of cat-loving dementia patients in the UK - linking with Britain’s best-selling feline magazine - Your Cat.
Wakefield Rotary Club has had a long association with the scheme - which sources and donates robotic cats (which sound and look like the real thing) to sufferers of the debilitating condition. It is widely recognised that these cats have a remarkable positive effect for sufferers.
Now, linking with the Your Cat magazine publishers, the club is extending the initiative to a nation-wide audience. World Mental Health Day is October 10 and a major feature in Your Cat magazine, contains numerous mentions of Wakefield Rotary. The magazine (October 2019) is on bookstands now.
Wakefield RC past president Sheila Wainwright is spearheading the club’s initiative, following the loss of her husband John to early-onset dementia eight years ago. The Wakefield Rotary Club is also the lead Rotary Club in the UK for assisting Dementia UK and their work to provide Admiral Nurses to help people with the condition, and their associated carers.
Peter Clarke (WRC assistant secretary) is part of the co-ordinating team. He says: “We are very grateful to Your Cat for promoting World Mental Health Day and featuring the benefits of the robotic cats. We know first-hand the comfort they can bring to people affected by dementia or who feel socially isolated. The club thanks Your Cat for joining with Rotary International to get the message across to a much wider audience.
The robotic cats cost between £90 and £100 and RC Wakefield is coordinating the collection of donations process, utilising the facilities they have already in place. The magazine’s donation period ends on December 2, 2019.
To donate via PayPal go to www.rotarywakefield.org.uk and click on the link to Your Cat Magazine robotic cat project. Then click on the donate button and follow the on-screen instructions.
Alternatively, send a cheque payable to Rotary Club of Wakefield, marking the envelope (Your Cat), to the club at New Brookhouse, 221 Barnsley Road, Wakefield. WF1 5NU. For further information or enquiries: cats@rotarywakefield.org.uk.
By donating to this charitable scheme you will be assisting in negating the effects of dementia on vulnerable people.
ENDS
Photos show Wakefield RC past president Sheila Wainwright with robotic cats.