Every September, we recognise World Alzheimer’s Month. It’s a time to come together to raise awareness and challenge the stigma around Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, which affect more than 55 million people worldwide.
Dementia is an umbrella term for a collection of brain disorders, and Alzheimer’s is one of the most common diseases in this category. All month long, charities and individuals host campaigns and fundraisers and work to shine a light on the incorrect attitude that dementia is a “normal” part of aging. The 2024 campaign for World Alzheimer’s Month is “Time to act on dementia”.
In this post, we introduce you to Dementia Friends, a growing effort that helps people understand what it’s like to live with dementia. We also highlight how seemingly small initiatives—like fundraising badges—can be incredibly effective tools to spark conversation and bring about change. And we share a few tips for how to design and implement meaningful badges for your own fundraising campaigns, whether you focus on issues of dementia and mental health or another cause altogether.
Dementia Friends: Creating a Climate of Kindness
Dementia Friends, an Alzheimer’s Society initiative, creates a culture of understanding by raising awareness of what it’s like to live with dementia. Today, there are more than 16 million Dementia Friends around the world, and everyone can be a Dementia Friend! People who sign up to become Dementia Friends learn more about dementia—either through online videos or in-person at information sessions—and the various ways they can help in the community. Supporters also have the option to become a Dementia Friends Champion, which means running Dementia Friends sessions for people in their networks or communities and further spreading the awareness and understanding of dementia.
In honour of World Alzheimer’s Month, we applaud the work of Dementia Friends for giving people an opportunity to show their personal commitment to the cause—and for providing clear ways for advocates to make a difference, both large and small. Organisations and workplaces can also get involved to roll out the concept of Dementia Friends to the local workforce.
The Symbolism Behind Fundraising Badges
When people sign up to become a Dementia Friend and attend an info session, they also receive a specially designed Dementia Friend badge. The badges not only show support for the Dementia Friends movement and World Alzheimer’s Day, but they’ve also become long-standing symbols of hope, solidarity, and support. Dementia Friend badges aren’t available for purchase—the only way to receive a badge is to become a Dementia Friend online or in the community by attending an info session. As such, by wearing the Dementia Friend badge, you’re also making an important and visible statement that you care and that you have an understanding of dementia.
Connecting Badges with a Cause
To create the eye-catching badges, Dementia Friends England & Wales teamed up with Rocket Charities, who then transformed the charity’s iconic forget-me-not, a small blue flower that represents remembrance, into bright, colourful, rubberised badges. The bright badges are a great conversation starter and encourage people to talk about dementia and the role that people can play in making their communities a dementia-friendly place to live.
To manufacture a budget-friendly badge that supporters can be proud to wear, Dementia Friends works closely with their dedicated account manager at Rocket Charities to oversee the design and production of the badges. The badges are then manufactured in Rocket Charities’ SMETA-audited factories and shipped off to Dementia Friends to be gifted to supporters.
The Dementia Friends badge is a powerful example of how a seemingly small product (such as a badge, keyring, or bracelet) can have an outsized impact to connect us to a cause and inspire others to do the same.
Maximising the Impact of Badges
We’re honoured to work with Dementia Friends to design, produce, and leverage the power of badges for the important cause of de-stigmatising dementia. Your charity can do something similar! Whether you focus on mental health, animal rights, or childhood cancer, your charity can design and use badges and other bespoke products to drive fundraising and raise awareness.
Here are a few tips to consider:
First, design appealing and high-impact merchandise.
Take a moment to understand your audience and their motivations. For example, if you’re with an environmental charity, consider an eco-friendly product alternative. Explore the latest design trends and seek inspiration from local artists or like-minded organisations. Be creative in your designs but stay consistent to your brand!
For example, Dementia Friends uses the iconic blue flower that represents remembrance. What symbols resonant with your cause—and your supporters? For more, see this previous post on How to Design Eye-Catching Charity Merchandise. For inspiration, check out the stories behind iconic charity badge designs.
Second, consider how you can effectively market, sell, or share your items with your supporters.
Dementia Friends gifts the badge to people who complete a specified training program. But you can also sell your products to raise critical funds. Consider launching an online charity shop, planning an in-person pop-up shop, or collaborating with other charities, businesses, or local figures. For more, see this previous post on Promoting your Charity Fundraising Merchandise.
We hope you’ll join us in recognising World Alzheimer’s Month. How will you raise awareness of dementia—and what actions will you take to make a difference? We encourage every one of you to consider becoming a Dementia Friend. You’ll be in very good company—and you’ll get a very special badge!
As you think about your own upcoming campaigns, we hope this post also inspires you to think creatively and strategically about how a seemingly small thing like a badge can help you maximise your impact and achieve your goals. Please get in touch with us anytime to learn more. Our friendly design experts are just a call away.