Old Friends Club
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Mission Statement
Old Friends Club Network empowers communities to cultivate joy in the lives of people with cognitive impairment and nourish the well-being of family caregivers.
About This Cause
Old Friends Club Network equips community organizations to start and operate social respite programs that help people living with dementia remain living in their own home longer and address social and cognitive needs that other care options often don’t. People living with Alzheimer’s or other brain-changing disease deserve to have a place of friendship, purpose and belonging. And family caregivers thrive when they have time to rest. Old Friends Club was founded in 2015, expanded to four respite programs by 2020 and served over 130 families. To address the extensive gap in dementia respite care, we developed a Toolkit and expansion plan to equip other organizations to bring respite to their own communities. We have become Old Friends Club Network (OFCN) delivering a model of daytime memory care and caregiver respite that can be replicated and sustained by affiliates in any community. Our vision is to expand access to respite across the country. The OFCN Affiliate model is an innovative, person-centered approach to addressing the respite shortage. An Affiliate is an organization who signs an agreement to open and operate a social respite program (Old Friends Clubs, or Club) aligned with OFCN’s values. We train them, provide a comprehensive Toolkit, and walk them through establishing their own community-based, community-led social respite program. Once in operation, each Club is self-sustaining through modest user fees. We then provide ongoing training and support. We do not charge Affiliates for these services. The Old Friends Club social respite model fills a great need and can be in any community. For families, the Club is affordable, supports aging in place, and improves care while building resilience in caregivers. The care and respite offered eases the impact of dementia on the health care system. And the programs are self-sustaining services that can be a cornerstone of dementia-friendly communities.