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The organisers of The Forget Me Nots club, a small charity in ������վ, were recently presented with a community grants award by Cllr Sue Mullins, Cabinet Member for Community Engagement and Culture at ������վ Borough Council. The organisers were also commemorating VE Day with their members on the same day.

For 2025 to 2026, ������վ Borough Council awarded £5,775 to The Forget Me Nots ������վ for activity for people with dementia and their friends and family. 

Club organiser, Beverly Loxstonbown, said: “We are very grateful for the support provided by ������վ Borough Council for another year. The council has helped us from the beginning before we became a charity. Following the presentation, it was a very emotional day at the Forget Me Nots club. Thanks to our volunteers, we had singing of memorable war time songs during the tea party, a quiz about WWII and some people shared their stories of when they were evacuees. We also held two minutes of silence.”

The Forget Me Nots club meets twice a week on Fridays from 10.30am with a lunch club at Tilgate Community Centre. Members can come along with or without the person they care for, enjoy an uninterrupted few hours sit down or a meal that they haven’t had to cook, join in with a quiz, watch entertainment and most importantly meet up with friends. The club is also Burleys Wood Community Lounge in Furnace Green on Tuesdays from 2pm, where carers can pop along anytime for a cup of tea and a chat, or to meet up with others to share experiences, and get advice and support. 

Beverly added: “All our members and volunteers have been personally affected by dementia so as soon as you arrive you know you are among friends. We encourage carers to come along on their own if possible and they often go home feeling more relaxed. New members are welcome to pop in for a cuppa at either session, but if they would like to join us for a meal at the lunch club, we would ask carers to ring to book a place a few days before.”

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