MEMBERS of Oswestry Rotary Club were delighted to be able to make an award from their Tree of Light Appeal 2017 to purchase equipment for the Oswestry group Connect for Life recently. Connect for Life provides a day support service for older people, particularly those with memory loss or dementia where they can meet others and build connections by offering a wide variety of stimulating activities in a safe, welcoming and caring environment.
“The group has gone from strength to strength since it started back in Autumn 2016.” said Appeal Organiser Mike Jones. “Now they are able to run two sessions per week.”
Group volunteers Carolyn Lewis and Pauline Abbotts brought some of their new equipment to a Rotary meeting to show what had been bought. “We get a lot of use out of games such as dominoes and noughts and crosses. Both stimulate the memory and create laughter – a bit of competition can be very good for you and our members feel better about themselves.” said Pauline. “We didn’t bring along the percussion set but music and singing is also excellent therapy for our members.”
Connect for Life meet between 10.30 and 14.30 on Wednesdays at Gateacre Pavilion and now Thursdays at the York Fields Community Room where drinks and a 2 course lunch are provided, as well as a wide variety of activities and games appropriate for different levels of abilities, for £10 per session. To find out more visit their website www.connectforlife.co.uk, email connectforlife@hotmail.com or call 07582 207972 – new members and volunteers are always welcome.
Mental Health is the first month of the joint Oswestry Library and Oswestry Rotary Club’s “Health and Wellbeing Awareness” programme which launches on 9th May with “Find Your Own Power” – a talk by local author P J Ruscoe on finding your true self in a world of negativity – followed by “Living With Dementia” on 22nd May – a talk by George Rook on how his dementia was diagnosed and how he deals with it on a day to day basis. Tickets for these lunchtime events are available from Oswestry Library (01743 250351).
Pictured: (l-r) Tree of Light Organiser Mike Jones, Connect for Life Volunteer Carolyn Lewis, Rotarian Denzil Ellis, Connect for Life Volunteer Pauline Abbotts and Rotary Club of Oswestry President Dave Davies
