It’s not every day you see aged care residents doing the ‘Macarena’ at your local shopping centre.
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But residents of not-for-profit community services provider Uniting Elanora were proud to be spotted dancing with local school children in an event to highlight the importance of keeping active as you age.
Around 120 people attended the Dance Away Dementia event, held at the Stockland Shellharbour Shopping Centre on Tuesday. Shellharbour Mayor, Marianne Saliba, was also in attendance.
“Today 500,000 Australians experience dementia and Uniting is reminding people that keeping active helps to prevent and reduce its symptoms,” service manager of Uniting Elanora Walter De Ruyter said.
“The event also brings together school children and the elderly and hopes to educate youngsters to help out if they see a disorientated older person lost in the community – especially a shopping centre.”
School children from Flinders Public School, Nazareth Catholic Primary School and Corpus Christi Catholic High School attended the event, which hosted boot scooting as well as famous dances such as the Macarena.
“We are thrilled to be supporting Uniting’s event today,” Stockland Shellharbour centre manager Amanda Whittle said.
“This is the fourth year the event has been held at Stockland Shellharbour and it continues to be an important focus for our community.
“It is fantastic to see so many local residents and schools getting into the swing of things to raise awareness of dementia and its impact on families, carers and communities.”
