Don’t forget this spellbinding fundraiser

A DAZZLING fundraising event will light up Geelong next month with a goal of raising significant funds for dementia research.

The Forget Me Not Ball returns to 1915 in North Geelong on August 30 with a spellbinding Romeo and

Juliet theme.

Now in its second year, the event has quickly become one of Geelong’s most sophisticated and talked about social fundraisers.

It will feature live music, surprise performances, decadent food, flowing cocktails, plus a room full of modern romance.

Every cent raised will go directly toward supporting dementia research and clinical trials in Geelong in partnership with Barwon Health and Deakin University.

Barwon Health Foundation executive director Zoe Water said the foundation was delighted to be behind the initiative.

“We are so grateful to this group of local people who are putting their efforts into fundraising while also supporting parents living with dementia or suffering the grief of losing a parent to the disease.

“We are proud to provide them with the structure to make a difference locally through our foundation.” ​​ ​ ​

Founded by a group of Geelong locals with personal experience navigating the heartbreak of dementia in their own families, the Forget Me Not committee is on a mission to transform grief into action.

“We’re not researchers, but we’re daughters, sons and grandchildren who wanted to do something meaningful,” co-founder Kate Ward said.

“Dementia has touched our families – now we’re fighting back with community, compassion and a little bit of chaos on the dancefloor.”

In 2024, the inaugural Forget Me Not Ball raised $64,000, establishing the Forget Me Not Geelong Dementia Fund at the Barwon Health Foundation.

So far, the fund has made possible – a $30,000 grant for multi-disciplinary dementia research at Barwon Health, and a $15,000 individual grant supporting Masters-level, PhD, or trainee researchers.

To book tickets, head to barwonhealthfoundation.org.au/event/forget-me-n​ot-ba​ll-20​25/fm​nb