New cookbook raises funds for dementia bus

The recipe book, Recipes to Remember, is a part of the Community Vision fundraising initiative, A Roast To Remember, started in 2018, to raise more money for an expansion of services for the community dementia bus.

Twenty-two celebrities have provided a recipe to the cause, along with their personal experience with dementia. 

This includes Australian celebrity cook, Anna Gare; actor and singer, Tim Campbell; singer and songwriter, Phil Walleystack, and Perth Glory player, Dino Djulbic.

Last year’s fundraiser raised enough to purchase the dementia bus and fit out the interior, and has provided much-needed respite and advice to dementia carers, along with education and therapies in Western Australia (WA) communities.

This year’s recipe book fundraiser will keep the dementia bus rolling from town to town, expand on services needed, and support over 33,300 Western Australians living with dementia.

Chief Executive Officer of Community Vision, Michelle Jenkins, says, “For those living with dementia, life can be confusing, frustrating and sometimes frightening. Yet just the smell of a roast meal can conjure up warm, reassuring memories. This is where the A Roast to Remember fundraising concept was born.

“With the dream of the community dementia bus now a reality, we’re aiming for more advanced technology within the bus and funds to support the two staff required to service it. 

“Our aim is to visit a minimum of two locations each week covering metro, regional and rural WA.”

The dementia bus visits community centres or people’s homes, and provides an opportunity for the wider community who don’t have access to local services to trial new innovations, like Virtual Reality, for those living with dementia.

The bus is fully air conditioned and is fitted with sensory materials to help reduce frustration, stress and anxiety.

There is a virtual aquarium inside the bus with 40 varieties of fish, along with tea and coffee facilities and a pull-out awning on the exterior of the bus.

The aim of the A Roast to Remember campaign is to encourage people to get together with family, friends and neighbours for a roast dinner and to raise money for a good cause.

Celebrity cook, Anna Gare, has her own experiences with dementia after her mother developed the disease.

“My mum, Kate, is in her 12th year of dementia. She says there’s nothing wrong with being demented, you just have to live in the now, and that’s all she can do,” says Ms Gare.

“She’s funny and often inappropriate, we laugh a lot and sometimes cry. She’s still essentially Kate, and we will endeavour to look after her at home until the very end. She has been the best mum, and now it’s our turn to look after her.

“I chose to include ‘Slow Roasted Pork Belly’ out of my ‘Eat In’ book because, like most people, she adores crunchy and succulent roast pork belly.”

To find out more about the A Roast to Remember fundraiser, head to the Community Vision website here.