New dementia choir tunes up, ready to get Tarbert singing
A new Forget Me Not Choir will start rehearsing in Tarbert next month, giving people suffering with dementia the chance to come together in song.
The dementia choir will meet on Tuesdays from 1.30pm to 3pm at The Templar Hall, with the first session beginning on Tuesday March 4.
The Forget Me Not Choir initiative was set up in Lochgilphead in 2019 and the sessions of singing, laughing and chatting have since had a life-changing impact on choir members, families and carers.
Choir founder Louise Curtis said people unable to travel to Lochgilphead have been “crying out” for a choir in Tarbert and she is excited for them to experience the way the sessions "lift everybody’s joy and soul”.
She added: “I am proud of the choir for its achievements and the impact it has made in the community over the last few years. We are going from strength to strength.”
Louise has been “overwhelmed” by community donations, which have helped build up the Lochgilphead choir and now make it possible to expand to Tarbert.
Trustees of the Templar Arts and Leisure Centre have given the Tarbert choir four weeks of free room hire and a local Tai Chi group has donated part of its session fees so that the choir can continue to use the hall.
The Tai Chi group’s teacher Ferelyth Bruce Lockhart said: “We have collected £240 for the choir, which will pay for 12 weeks of the choir meeting for 2.5 hours a week.
“Most, if not all of us in the group, have had experience of people with dementia. We can’t think of any better use of the money than to support the Tarbert Forget Me Not Choir.”
The Tarbert choir has also received funding from the Argyll and Bute Third Sector Interfaces (TSIs) as well as a Co-op member who won a November raffle draw through the Co-op UK Local Community and picked the choir to receive the funding.
The Forget Me Not Choir is now looking to grow even further and is seeking funding to start up new dementia choirs in Islay and Campbeltown.
Those interested in volunteering at the Tarbert Forget Me Not Choir sessions can email: Forgetmenotargyll19@hotmail.com
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