Tag: Forget Me Notes

£314,000 to support community-led dementia projects across Scotland

Over a quarter of a million pounds has been given to 25 dementia projects across Scotland to support the growth of community-led support for people living with dementia, their carers and family members.

Age Scotland’s dementia ‘Encouraging and Supporting Grassroots Activity’ (ESGA) fund is providing a total of £314,662 in community grants to groups across Scotland. 

These grants have been supported by Scottish Government funding, allocated via a National Dementia Resilient Communities Programme Board made up of lived experience voices, local and national partners.

This funding, and the work of the Board, supports the aims of the new National Dementia Strategy, particularly in building resilience and sustainability in community support for people living with dementia and unpaid carers.
 
Funding decisions were made in collaboration with a lived experience panel of people living with dementia and unpaid carers, ensuring that those with first-hand insight played a key role in shaping the allocation of grants. 

The 25 successfully funded projects are:


Beith Community Development Trust (North Ayrshire)
 
Big Hearts Community Trust (Edinburgh)
 
Feniks (Edinburgh)
 
Networking Key Services (Edinburgh)
 
Boots and Beards (Glasgow)
 
Wing Hong Chinese Elderly Centre (Glasgow)
 
Central Wellbeing (Falkirk)
 
Cobhair Bharraigh (Western Isles)
 
Community Connectors (Moray)
 
Connecting Carers (Highland)
 
Raddery House / Inverness Openarts (Highland)
 
Craignish Community Company (Argyll and Bute)
 
Dementia Friendly Aberfeldy (Perth and Kinross)
 
Dementia Friendly Prestwick (South Ayrshire)
 
Friends of Dundonald Castle (South Ayrshire)
 
DG Voice (Dumfries and Galloway)
 
Forget Me Not Club (Aberdeenshire)
 
Inchgarth Community Centre (Aberdeen city)
 
Friends of Kilsyth (North Lanarkshire)
 
North Lanarkshire Muslim Women & Family Alliance (NLMWFA) (North Lanarkshire)
 
Inspiring Communities (Stirling)
 
Lyle Gateway (Inverclyde)
 
Montrose Connections (Angus)
 
Past Times (South Lanarkshire)
 
Peebles Old Parish Church (Scottish Borders)
 
 
Grants of between £5,000 and £20,000 will be distributed by April 2026 and will allow communities to deliver projects and realise the benefits and impact of their work as soon as possible. 


 
Anna Clements, Head of Dementia at Age Scotland, said: “We were blown away by the number of applications and are proud to announce the recipients of one of our largest allocations of ESGA funding to date.
 
“From towns and cities to islands and remote areas in different corners of Scotland, it’s inspiring to see such a diverse range of projects receiving funding to help people living with dementia, their carers, and families stay connected and supported in their communities.
 
“This year we made a conscious effort to ensure a broad spread of grant holders across Scotland, particularly in rural areas and projects supporting people from ethnic minority communities, where access to dementia services can be especially limited and underrepresented.
 
“We look forward to seeing the funding in action across the country and are confident the projects will play a vital role in empowering people to live well with dementia.”

Funded grassroots dementia projects thriving:

The Forget Me Notes Project is a singing group which aims to create inclusive choirs for everyone, including people living with dementia.

The organisation is based in Edinburgh and hosts weekly sessions alternating between Saughton Park and The Salvation Army on Gorgie Road.

It also runs an online Zoom choir which attracts participants from across the UK.

While these choirs had already been running for two years, it was only when funding from About Dementia was secured last year that the choirs became weekly offerings, enabling them to recruit new volunteers to provide assistance to members.

Alan Midwinter, chief executive of The Forget Me Notes Project, said: “The grant was used to consolidate our work and make it consistent, we wouldn’t be able to keep it going as much without it.”

On a warm sunny day Alan says between 70 to 80 people usually turn up at the outdoor Choir In The Park, including many people living with dementia and unpaid carers.

On colder or wet days, the group move into the park’s glasshouse to sing.

Alan added: “People with dementia who attend our choirs get a sense of achievement, community involvement, its inclusive for people who might be genuinely isolated.”

New Music for Memory Group

FORGET ME NOTES at ST JAMES CHURCH LEITH

First session MONDAY 8th SEPTEMBER from 1 – 2pm

New dementia-friendly community singing – Music for Memory with The Forget Me Notes Project

Starting Monday 8th Sept 1pm til 2pm at St James Leith junction of John’s Place/ Duncan Place/Wellington Place.

Free and all welcome.

2nd and 4th Mondays of the month.

https://www.forgetmenotes.org.uk

Local dementia charity to host showcase event

THE Forget Me Notes Project, an Edinburgh based charity which offers support to dementia sufferers throughout the capital via the medium of music, is hosting a showcase event next month to highlight and illustrate the wide range of activities it undertakes.

The charity was founded in 2018 by Alan Midwinter and Paul Barfoot and it focusses on utilising music as a means of helping alleviate the symptoms of those who live with dementia.

Activities include weekly performances by a 40 strong choir, regular music based attendances at care homes, community centres, parks and day centres as well as home visits for people living withThey also embrace modern technology by broadcasting their activities via ZOOM to people’s living rooms.

All in all Forget Me Notes undertakes in excess of 30 musical activities every month with a view to improving the lives of both those affected by dementia and their families.

The showcase event will take place on Tuesday 13th August at St Bride’s Centre, Orwell Terrace, Edinburgh EH11 2DZ at 2pm.

Between 2pm and 5.30 it will feature a series of drop-in sessions, film and audio presentations as well as musical interludes, all designed to raise awareness of the charity’s aims.

The event will close at 5.30 followed by a ceilidh hosted by local musician Kenny Vass and his band.

Admission is free but those wishing to attend the ceilidh must book tickets (also free of charge) in advance. Full details of the event, along with a link to order tickets for the ceilidh, can be found on :-

http://www.forgetmenotes.org.uk/new-events-1/2024/8/13/forget-me-notes-showcase

Alan Midwinter, who is co-chief executive, said “You are  welcome to join us at St Brides to sample just what music can do both for our wellbeing and all round health. We are in for an inspiring day!”

Local dementia charity hitting the right notes

Monday 13th May heralds the beginning of Dementia Awareness Week in Scotland and a local music charity, the Forget Me Notes project, is looking to mark the occasion by releasing a recording of their trademark song after having spent a day in the confines of an Edinburgh recording studio.

Forget Me Notes was founded in 2018 by Alan Midwinter and Paul Barfoot and focusses on utilising music as a means of helping alleviate the symptoms of those who live with dementia.

Their activities include fortnightly performances by a 40 strong choir, regular music based attendances at care homes, community centres, parks and day centres as well as home visits for housebound sufferers. They also embrace modern technology by broadcasting their activities via ZOOM to people’s living rooms.

All in all Forget Me Notes undertakes in excess of 30 musical activities every month with a view to improving the lives of both those affected by dementia and their families.

Their song, aptly titled The Forget Me Notes song, was written by volunteers within the group and recorded by choir members and musicians in the professional surroundings of the Chamber Studios in Granton last year.

The recording has been circulated to local radio stations and can be found on www.forgetmenotes.org.uk/film&audio

Alan Midwinter, who is co-chief executive of the charity along with keyboard player and musical therapist Paul Barfoot, said: “It is a privilege to work with those living with dementia and their carers. We hope that this song will raise awareness and draw attention to the abilities of those living with dementia.”

For further information and photographs, contact:-

Alan Midwinter Co-Chief executive, The Forget Me Notes Project
Tel: 07588 894587
Email: alan@forgetmenotes.org.uk
Website: www.forgetmenotes.org.uk

Singing Out at Strachan House!

Care home residents form new community choir

Residents and guests at Strachan House Care Home in Blackhall are looking forward to hitting the high note with their own community innovative choir.

Working with a local charity Forget Me Notes the choir hopes to engage their intergenerational community and create a group where the affected by Dementia have a place to still express themselves through music and song together. 

Local residents from Strachan House Care Home will practice many a varied song that allows them to take a trip down memory lane. The Choir will get together once a month with people from the community joining in and all performing together.

The Blackhall Primary School choir will also come along making it a great session of intergenerational fun too.

The idea came about when Mandy Head of Activities at Strachan House made contact with Alan the founder of  Forget Me Notes, a local charity that engages those affected by Dementia and other conditions in offering group music and song came together to discuss building a choir from a care home into the community.

“We want to demonstrate that being in a care home doesn’t mean life stops. In fact it’s just getting started. Our aim was to promote inclusion, and invite our community to have the opportunity to be part of something special.

“The choir is an arm that reaches into the community and touches those affected by isolation or loneliness and delivers a safe network of friends and support.

“This choir literally hits all the right notes!”

The choir practice will be held every second Friday of the month at 10.45am at Strachan House and will be open to all who would like to come along.

The hospitality team at the home will also provide a spread of sweet and savoury treats for guests to enjoy during their get together.

Alan said: “We are really looking forward to being part of this new and exciting project.”

General Manager, Gordon Philp said, “Our residents and guests always love a sing along together, so we are very proud of this new innotive and welcoming everyone from our community to join in our choir” 

Strachan House care home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals. Strachan House provides residential care, nursing care and dementia care for 83 residents from respite care to long term stays.