A happy Easter for Mearns Kirk Lunch Club

Volunteers at Mearn Kirk Lunch Club are celebrating success, having received certificates in best practice for dementia care from Stirling University.

The social club meets Thursdays, 12-4pm, welcoming people living with dementia for lunch and activities, followed by afternoon tea and entertainment.

Sessions are overseen by a band of volunteers led by Isobel Dawson, who explained: “We feel very strongly that each member of our group is an individual with an interesting history and background of experiences.

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“Everyone has the potential for living life to the full, developing and growing as they get to know us and other members.

“We’re friends — we share and value their experience as they do ours.”

The volunteers have built a relationship with the Dementia Services Development Centre at Stirling University, to better understand the condition and how to deal with situations that arise.

The university supported eight volunteers through training — and now each has a certificate to show for their hard work.

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Professor June Andrews commented: “For people living with dementia and their families and carers, the local church is a vital source of comfort and support. But even there, where members of the congregation are keen to help, sometimes it’s not clear what to do for the best.

“Our partnership with Mearns Kirk means that we have been able to share what we know from research — and Mearns Kirk has shared with us their knowledge of how good friends and neighbours can make a positive difference.”

The Lunch Club members are pictured with knitted bunnies, blankets and baby clothes — an Easter project for children in Malawi.

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