Report from David Ward

There was good news for local charity Age UK Lancashire and the clients they support as they received a generous donation from the Peter Lathom Trust.

The £1000 donation was to help the charity support people living with dementia to socialise and be more active.

Age UK Lancashire were seeking funding to develop new 'dementia friendly' resources and activities for their Day Time Support services which operate in Skelmersdale and Ormskirk, and to enable them to establish activity groups and reminiscence sessions from their Wellbeing Centre.

Councillor Adrian Owens on behalf of Peter Lathom’s charity said: “We were delighted to support Ormskirk’s Wellbeing Centre when they approached us with their proposal to start a Dementia Friendly Activity Club at the Centre on Moorgate. The musical bingo, reminiscence games and memory books, indoor bowling equipment, companion pets and the like will help to improve the mental and physical wellbeing of people with dementia.”

“The Wellbeing Centre is an important and well-used facility for older people and especially since it lost all its funding from the Borough Council last year, we were keen to support it.”

Louise Cropper from Age UK Lancashire added: “We were delighted to receive such a kind donation. Adrian has always been really supportive of our centre and the work we do for older people. We will be putting the money towards special activities including musical bingo and indoor bowls and also look at the purchase of digital tablets, as these are really becoming useful tools to improve memory functionality and offer a variety of options”.

The Wellbeing Centre on Moorgate in Ormskirk is open 5 days a week and runs activities, classes and Day time support for anyone over 50. Full details of the activities can be accessed online ageuklancs.org.uk, by calling 0300 303 1234 or visiting the centre directly.

Pictured at the presentation from left are: Age UK Lancashire staff Janet Hurst, Jordann Kennedy, Nick Hindley, Louise Reynolds, and Ann Bradshaw receiving the cheque from Cllr Adrian Owens.