On 20th May 2016, My Life Films was awarded Start-up of the Year at the first Asian Voice Charity Awards powered by Charity Clarity. The award recognised the great impact that the charity makes on a daily basis. Our core work is making films about the lives of people with dementia, which are used to improve their wellbeing and care. The personalised films tell the life stories of individual people with dementia, and improve their quality of life and relationships with carers. Every film package we make is given to the person and their family free of charge. In 2016, we will make over 80 films for people with the condition, and help over 800 people affected by it.
Our beneficiaries describe how the films have changed the lives of their loved ones with dementia. Julie, said how the film boosted her father’s self-esteem, “The filmmaking was essential for making my father’s life seem important when he felt like he was losing everything.” Another beneficiary, Tom, describes how the film has improved his wife’s wellbeing, “When my wife becomes forgetful and disorientated, watching the film focuses and relaxes her. When she becomes anxious, it calms her down.” There is an immediate, growing need for our films, increasing the quality of life experienced by people with the condition.
The Awards was a brilliant platform to expose our cause and mission to many different organisations and people. It has helped us to connect with some great new donors. The prize package of Charity Clarity training and publicity will no doubt help us to develop our procedures and public presence even more. We are grateful to the Charity Clarity team for their ongoing support for My Life Films.
In order to keep fighting dementia, and improving people’s lives, we are always looking for more support. My Life Films has helped many Asian families with a loved one who has been diagnosed with dementia. Diseases like dementia do not discriminate between race, ethnicity, gender or sexuality, and neither does our charity. We are committed to making free films for every person with dementia in the UK, celebrating their unique personality and memories, and making those memories enjoyable for years to come. If you know anyone whose life has been transformed by dementia, please find out more about our work, and consider supporting us in the future.
We would heartily encourage charities to apply for the awards. Winning Start-up of the Year has put us in the public eye, and we will be improving the lives of people with dementia as a result. Finally, good luck to all the nominees and prize winners.
So what are you waiting for? Nominations are now open for any charity, business, social enterprise or individual until 31 March 2017, submit your nomination today at http://asianvoicecharityawards.com/how-to-enter/
