The Syracuse Memory Cafe meets on the second Wednesday of each month. The 2024 dates are January 10, February 14, March 13, April 10, May 8, June 12, July 10, August 14, September 11, October 9, November 13, and December 11.
Where did the idea of a Memory Cafe come from?
As our population ages, Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia are on the rise. One challenge of living with memory changes is that social ties become strained and even severed at a time when they are so desperately needed – both for the people experiencing the changes and for their caregivers. A helpful response to this challenge is a Memory Café. Starting in Holland, then spreading throughout Europe, there are now more than two hundred Memory Cafés in the United States.
What is the Syracuse Memory Café?
The aim of the Syracuse Memory Café (SMC), an outreach program of Pebble Hill Presbyterian Church, is to provide individuals with memory changes and their care partners a place for community and socialization in a safe, welcoming, friendly environment. All individuals of every race, ethnicity, religion and orientation are welcome.
What happens at the Syracuse Memory Café?
A typical Syracuse Memory Café begins with coffee and visiting with other guests, a humorous ice-breaker, a few sing-a-long songs, a specially arranged activity or entertainment such as a bagpiper, magicians, Tai Chi, or dancing the Charleston, followed by a light meal.
We often hear that people who couldn’t imagine they would like such an event are surprised at how much fun they have. Once they join us, they keep coming back.
Meeting Place
The Syracuse Memory Café meets on the second Wednesday of each month from
10:30 am until noon at Pebble Hill Church in DeWitt, NY, across from Manlius
Pebble Hill School. Our facility is ADA compliant with an elevator and a wheelchair accessible bathroom. This is a free program, and everyone is welcome. We simply
require that our guests be people experiencing memory changes and that they have
a companion or care partner accompany them.
Where We Meet