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(If you're looking for the text to copy and paste to get you started on your 7 Lyric Challenge, please scroll down to the bottom.)

Do you ever run upstairs to get something but forget what you went for? But you can remember practically all the words to your favourite songs from when you were younger? 

Multiply that feeling by a thousand, and you might just be getting close to how Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia attack the brain. Oddly, a lot of your long-term memories are still intact, even if they become a bit jumbled. But your short-term memory, cognitive ability and general understanding can be ravaged. 

Dementia sufferers get so much comfort from singing the songs they remember from their youth. If you know someone who is suffering with dementia, try playing them something you know they used to love, or even sing it yourself! Watch them light up :)

The 7 Lyric Challenge 
(watch the video here... https://youtu.be/QAQ45azqFA4)
is to help raise awareness of how Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia attack the brain. Despite everything it does, there is huge comfort to be had in knowing that those most precious and longest held memories not only survive, but allow somebody with even late stage dementia to be themselves again by connecting with those memories. And music triggers memories better than almost anything.

I lost my mother to Alzheimer's in July 2020, in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic. I had not been allowed to visit her in her care home since March. Despite her struggling to even know who I was when we connected online, I was overwhelmed when one of her wonderful carers sent me a video of her singing along to one of her favourite songs from the Sound of Music.

It's too late for me to help my Mum, but at any one time, millions of people and their families are having their lives torn apart by dementia. It could be your grandparents, your parents, or one day, it could be you. We are in a better position now than we have even been to find new ways of treating dementia and perhaps one day, stopping it for good.

So please, share your 7 Lyrics online, one lyric every day for a week, nominate a friend each day to do the same, and please donate £7, $7, €7 or whatever you can afford to help support Alzheimer's Research UK protect not only our memories, but our personalities, our unique individual qualities and ultimately our very lives. Thank you.

Here's how to take part:

1. Copy and paste the text below to post on social media...

*** 7LYRIC CHALLENGE! ***

Share one lyric from a favourite song, once a day for a week

Lyric 1 of 7:
“BECAUSE I’M HAPPY! CLAP ALONG IF YOU FEEL
LIKE A ROOM WITHOUT A ROOF!”
Music triggers memories better than almost anything.
Today, I nominate Rachel Allard! Share 7 LYRICS over a week - nominate a friend to do the same each day – click www.justgiving.com/fundraising/7lyrics to give £7 to Alzheimer’s Research UK.
Let’s make Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia just a memory of a heart-breaking disease of the past. Thank you. Watch the video for more info: https://youtu.be/QAQ45azqFA4
#7lyricchallenge

2. Change the bits that you need to... the day that you are on (e.g. 2 of 7), the song lyric (put it in CAPS so it stands out!) and tag your nominated friend of the day

3. Post it!

4. Don't forget to give £7, or whatever you can afford, on this page.

5. (Bonus point!) - check out this video if you would like to find out how to share your lyrics with flair! https://youtu.be/Ub1yImpBDJg

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.