How did we give back in October?

On Thursday, October 1st, the Pinta team came together in Tipperary for one of our social days. As a fully remote team, these days give us a chance to meet in person, take part in workshops and activities, and catch up away from our screens.

Giving back to the local community is also an important part of our social days. Each quarter, we aim to support a local organisation in the area where we meet, making a donation to a cause that makes a difference. In October, we were delighted to support CAMEO Care in Thurles.

What is CAMEO Care?

CAMEO Care, which stands for “Come And Meet Each Other”, is a dementia-specific day care service. Their aim is to provide person-centred care in a safe, homely setting, meeting the social and physical needs of the people they care for while giving families a break.

Activities such as art and music help reduce social isolation and support clients’ physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. This helps people living with dementia stay in their own homes for longer, and gives family carers valuable respite.

The service grew out of the Thurles community. It was set up by local people who saw that families had to travel as far as Killaloe for the nearest dementia day service. Today it operates as part of Thurles Community Social Services and is led by an experienced nurse manager.

A visit from CAMEO Care

Pauline Burke from the CAMEO team kindly gave up her time to join us on the day. She told us about the service, the people who attend and the families they support, and patiently answered all our questions.

We left with a much better understanding of what day services like this mean for families living with dementia, and how much they depend on the support of their local community. Hearing about it first-hand made the day all the more meaningful.

How did Pinta support CAMEO Care?

For our donation, we put together some foot spas and accompanying supplies for the centre. We know it’s the staff and volunteers who make the real difference day to day, but we hope it adds a little extra comfort and relaxation to the time people spend at CAMEO.

For us, these donations are about finding a small way to help in the places we visit and have become a special part of our team days.

Supporting CAMEO Care

If you’re in the Thurles area, you can support them CAMEO Care by donating furniture and household goods to their charity shop on Slievenamon Road, shopping there, or volunteering a few hours a week.

Thank you to Pauline, Marita and everyone at CAMEO Care for getting involved and for the work they do in the community.