Aberdeen FC Community Trust (AFCCT) is delighted to announce Apache North Sea as the new sponsor for the Dementia Friendly Communities initiative.

AFCCT’s Dementia Friendly programmes attract more than 300 participants per week, with over 100 participants living with Dementia. The programmes involve activities designed to increase mobility and social inclusion, as well as reducing isolation and anxieties for those living with the condition.

The programmes also allow carers to get involved or gives them a chance for some respite from the 24‐hour care that people living with Dementia require.

Apache North Sea has partnered with AFCCT to continue to create support and opportunity for its local community with activities such as Football Memories, Walking Football, Health Walks, Techno Gym and Boogie in the Bar included in the initiative.

In 2017 Aberdeen FC Community Trust secured the Best Community Trust and Social Responsibility Programme award for its Dementia Friendly Programme.

An independent awards panel with representatives from UEFA and the European Football Development Network (EFDN) found that the uniqueness of the programme was what made AFCCT and Aberdeen FC stand out from the rest of the European Clubs.

Community Projects Officer Nicola Graham said, “I co‐ordinate all our Dementia programmes from Walking Football to Technogym, organising staff to run each project and ensuring everyone attending with Dementia is supported throughout and always has a good time.

“It’s so rewarding to provide them with a place they feel comfortable where they can just be themselves and we find it very common for people living with Dementia to have great memories of attending football matches, so we base our programmes around that where possible.

“This exciting new partnership with Apache will allow us to continue providing life‐changing support for people living with Dementia and with the age of developing the disease becoming much younger it’s important that we get as much recognition for these programmes so we can help as many people as possible.”

Patricia Paterson, Executive Assistant of Apache North Sea, whose offices are based at Prime Four Business Park, Kingswells said “Apache’s approach to giving back in the communities where we operate centres on the simple philosophy to ‘give where we live’ and we are delighted to support AFCCT’s Dementia Friendly programme.”

For more information contact info@afccommunitytrust.org.