The Memory Cafés in Basingstoke run by Home Instead have received a generous donation of £1000 from local housebuilder Barratt Homes, who is behind The White Building on Kingsclere Road. The White Building is part of the wider Chapel Gate development and is a restoration of the 1930’s Art Deco-style former Eli Lilly factory.
Home Instead Basingstoke runs monthly “Tea & Talk” memory cafes in Old Basing and Tadley to support local residents living with dementia. The cafes are intended to provide opportunities for anyone with memory loss or dementia, or other elderly members of the community looking for company, to meet up to reminisce, share experiences or just get out of the house. The cafes are informal and unstructured, but equipped with memorabilia such as old newspapers and household implements to bring back memories and help visitors re-connect with the past.
The donation will help to fund the important work that the cafés do, as they are provided free for the community and rely on funding from Home Instead; the donation will be particularly useful to help purchase more memorabilia and replicas. The cafes have had to close during the lockdown, but are set to reopen in October if Government guidelines allow.
The donation was made as part of Barratt Southern Counties’ Community Fund, which sees the housebuilder donate £1000 per month to a local charity or organisation that supports the community.
Sally Regan, who runs the memory cafes for Home Instead, comments: “We are very keen to reopen and give those living with dementia a place to go for support and to socialise. Covid-19 has presented particular difficulties for those with dementia, who are more vulnerable and isolated, and need the opportunity to meet and interact with others who might be experiencing the same challenges. We are very grateful to Barratt Southern Counties for their generous donation, which will be used to enhance the experience we offer to visitors to the cafés.”
Lynnette St-Quintin, Sales and Marketing Director for Barratt Southern Counties, comments: “The team at the Memory Cafés are working extremely hard to help those in need in the local community. It is important to us at Barratt Southern Counties to support those who are more vulnerable in the communities in which we build, and we hope our donation can help the Memory Cafés to continue their invaluable service.”
There are currently a number of one- and two-bedroom apartments available at The White Building, with prices starting from £204,995. To find out more, visit www.barratthomes.co.uk or call 0333 355 8498.