Mission Statement blurb ................................... ............
ABOUT FORGET-ME-NOT CLUB
Now in our 22nd Year, Forget-Me-Not Club is a well-established dementia support charity serving Aberdeen City & Shire
THEN
* Founded in 1999
* Opened our Dementia Resource Centre in 2014
NOW
* Provision of over 600 hours of respite da-care, outreach, pop-up, virtual and carer support each week
FUTURE
* More pop-up sessions across Aberdeen City & Shire
MISSION STATEMENT
MEET OUR TEAM
Team Forget-Me-Not, also known as our FMN Family, consists of 6 Trustees and is run by our General Manager, Cook, Team Leader, 5 Support Workers, Admin Assistant, Cleaner and Fundraising & Events Coordinator.
You can find out a little more about each member here >
THEN - HOW IT ALL BEGAN
Forget-Me-Not Club was founded in 1999 by Heather Morrison MBE and initially run by Heather and a small team of volunteers from the Scout Hut in Banchory. It became apparent from an early stage that dementia was becoming more prevalent and therefore, the need for dementia support became a priority.
As Forget-Me-Not Club began to grow, the registered charity became an incorporated charity in April 2012, paving the way for further developents.
After a fundraising initiative, which saw incredible support from the community, successful funding applications and a generous donation from local Physiotherapist and avid artist, Sheila Ferres MBE, in 2014, we were able to aquire a building, which would become our resource centre. Bennett House, based on Arbeadie Road in Banchory, was opened to our members in March 2014 to provide a key dementia support hub in the community.
WHERE WE ARE NOW
Today, Forget-Me-Not Club operates not only from our Resource Centre in Banchory, but also delivers pop-up, outreach, virtual and carer support sessions - allowing dementia support to be more accessible to members and their carers across Aberdeen City & Shire.
Currently, we provide between 170-200 hours of dementia support on a weekly basis, which has reduced significantly from 600 hours weekly as a result of Covid-19 restrictions. However, as those restrictions begin to ease and the prevalence of dementia remains high, we look to return to normal and expect to be able to offer between 600-800 hours of dementia support each week.
Like many charities, we experienced a very difficult period throughout the pandemic and have worked tirelessly to adapt, grow and continue offering dementia support within the region. The pandemic has enabled FMNC to compliment our resource centre with the additions of live virtual sessions, one-to-one outreach and carer support sessions and devices to help keep our members connected throughout the week.
In May 2021, we re-opened our doors and have been able to slowly return to normal since. We were delighted to add a new pop-up dementia support session in Aboyne, which currently runs from the Aboyne-Dinnet Church each Monday in addition to our regular daily sessions at Bennett House, Banchory. We look forward to starting additional pop-up sessions in the future.
FUTURE VISION
Forget-Me-Not Club aims to slowly increase our provisions of respite day-care and outreach within the community over the coming months. We are also working with local groups, health & social care departments and local communities to identify potential loctions for additional pop-up sessions, which can be added to our weekly schedule.
We aim to be able to introduce at least one new pop-up session to a new location in 2022 and look forward to providing updates on our progress.
With our ambitious plans, we rely on your support to help us support our members. If you'd like to be a part of our development by fundraising, donating or attending events, please get in touch with our team on info@forgetmenotclub.co.uk