About us

Our Active Together dementia buddying project matches up a volunteer with a person diagnosed with dementia with similar interests. The pairs go out every week or fortnight, often doing physical activities such as swimming, walking and even cycling.

We focus on getting the person living with dementia active and doing things that they enjoy. With a bit of extra support, a person living with dementia can maintain their physical activity and increase their physical and mental wellbeing. 

The Active Together Buddying Project is a project of Age UK Bristol. We match up volunteers and people with dementia across Bristol.

About this project

We are looking for £3,000 to support this amazing project. We want to continue matching volunteers with people living with dementia. We will train new volunteers on dementia and support our volunteers with regular supervision and support. 

£3,000 will fund the project fully for 3 months. The three month period will enable between 90 and 180 extra outings or up to 360 hours of increased physical and social activity for people living with dementia and the volunteers.

Hear from our Active Together Volunteer, James:
“Dave has dementia.  We meet most weeks.  He knows who I am but he never remembers my name.  He forgets what he has done that morning and he tells the same stories every time I see him. 
He lives alone, he has no family and he has never married. I met Dave less than a year ago as a volunteer for Age UK Bristol.  We were matched so I could see him for 2 or 3 hours every two weeks and encourage him to get active. We got on well from the beginning.  His life stories are often half told with parts forgotten but I enjoy listening about tales from his youth.”

Rewards on offer

We are unable to offer any physical rewards. Your reward is that warm fuzzy feeling you get when you know you have made a difference to someone’s life. Become a Gold, Silver, or Bronze Supporter of Active Together today!

The team

The project is run by Clare, the Active Together Project Coordinator. She works with the Dementia Wellbeing Service to get referrals of people living with dementia. She then goes out to visit the referred person to make sure that they will be suitable for the project. Then she matches the person with a volunteer who has similar interests.

Clare is supported by the Services team at Age UK Bristol. Age UK Bristol is an independent local charity supporting the over 55s across the city.

Risks and challenges

The current funding for Active Together is coming to an end soon. We are looking into other sources of funding to ensure that we are able to continue this valuable service. We are asking the Bristol community to help us raise the profile of the project and raise £3,000 to help it continue.

Make a donation today. Your support makes a difference to the lives of older people living with dementia.