Every year, at the end of May, the IG Wealth Management Walk for Alzheimer’s brings together thousands of people across Canada to raise funds and awareness to support those people and their families who live with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. In 2021, Canadians participating in the walk raised an incredible $5.1 million.
In addition to raising much-needed funds, the team at IG believes that education is also key to making a difference for Canadians facing a dementia diagnosis. One of these practical ways IG is educating and raising awareness is through a webinar.
“We offer this webinar in the weeks leading up to our Walk for Alzheimer’s to provide much-needed information and resources to any Canadians who are facing a dementia diagnosis for themselves or someone in their family,” says Christine Van Cauwenberghe, Head of Financial Planning at IG Wealth Management.
Resources like IG’s webinar, are important, because they provide a place where someone can start if they, or someone they know, has questions says Dr. Saskia Sivananthan, Chief Research and Knowledge Translation Officer for the Alzheimer Society.
“Dementia is not a normal part of aging. It’s a disease,” says Dr. Sivananthan. “Educate yourself. Understand what the signs and symptoms of dementia are, but also more importantly, what you can do about it if you get a diagnosis.”
“This is a topic that we come back to year after year,” says Van Cauwenberghe. “When someone in the family faces a dementia diagnosis, there are considerable implications to their financial plan and family life. We’re proud to partner with the Alzheimer Society to bring a mix of the latest insights on managing the journey from all perspectives, not just the financial ones.”
This year the live webinar had over 691 attendees, and after the event, the IG team says the event playback is still being viewed and shared.
“The information is very relevant,” says Shie-Mee Yeh, Manager Field Marketing. “We were so glad that we had a strong team handling the Q&A for this webinar. With representatives from the Alzheimer’s Society and Christine’s Financial Planning team, we were able to respond to over 90 questions that people had about navigating both the financial and emotional aspects of a journey with dementia.”
With that in mind, Yeh says the team has put together a list of the most frequent questions they received, with links to articles that provide answers:
- How many Canadians does dementia impact?
- What are the warning signs that someone has dementia?
- What should I do if I think a loved one has dementia?
- Who should I choose as my Power of Attorney?
- Why do I need a Power of Attorney or Protection Mandate?
- How can I avoid being a victim of financial abuse?
Yeh says that you can also reach out to an IG advisor for a copy of the financial confidence checklist, which will take you through the steps you should take when you or a loved one is facing a dementia diagnosis.
You can watch the playback of the live webinar event here: https://webinars.on24.com/IGWealth/financeanddementia
Kira Conrad, Senior Manager, Sponsorship & Community Engagement at IG Wealth Management, says not to forget that there’s still time to take part, or support, this year’s IG Walk for Alzheimer’s.
“I certainly encourage everyone to get out and walk with us at the end of May in your community,” says Conrad. “We look forward to having you join us.”
