Dementia friendly cafes shortlisted for award

Retain Wellbeing CIC has been shortlisted for a national Dementia Care Award in this year’s Markel 3rd Sector Care Awards for the work and support they have offered through their GIFT Cafes.

The Dementia Care Awards celebrate services improving the lives of people living with dementia and their families.

The Awards were launched in 2014 to celebrate and showcase the innovation and care excellence of the not-for-profit care and support sector.

Retain Wellbeing started with its first café within the Sports and Community Centre in Anfield, Liverpool, in 2016. This was followed by GIFT Café Puddington in 2017 and GIFT Vantastic – a mobile café launched during lockdown - by friends and business partners Caroline Hutton and Cathrina Moore. 

The pair set up the cafes in the heart of the communities they serve in order to provide a warm, friendly welcome to all, but especially those who visit alone and those needing a “normal” place to go where they are not judged for their actions and language.

All of the staff in GIFT Café are ‘Dementia Friends’, it is a not for profit organisation and profits are donated to projects tackling social isolation in the community and supporting partner organisations such as the local Admiral Nurses teams who have weekly clinics and Red Neighbours who facilitate walking football and walking netball for adults. 

Amongst other things, the cafés have facilitated singing groups, outdoor Tai Chi, craft sessions and they host monthly meetings for the Service Users Reference Forum (SURF), a group of 50 plus who either live with dementia or care for someone who does.

During Lockdown, GIFT Café bid for and received a National Lottery grant to open their mobile van – called GIFT Vantastic – which sells hot food, soup, toasties, sandwiches, cakes, drinks and staples such as milk and bread at various locations on different days including in the car park on Chapel House Lane in Puddington and Gladstone Village Hall’s car park in Burton. Visit their Facebook for the latest times and locations. 

The Puddington café will be reopening inside on Friday, 30^th October for socially distant customers sitting in their own family bubbles up to six. 

While Merseyside is in Tier Three, Anfield cannot provide help and support, however, the teams are in the process of working through the logistics of how they can help those living at home, affected by dementia. Visit the Retain Wellbeing Facebook page for more details - https://www.facebook.com/retainwellbeing/

Cathrina Moore, who is also owner of the care homes Plessington Court and The Chapel House in Puddington, said: “We’re delighted to be shortlisted for this prestigious award and would like to thank all our customers who continue to support us and our teams by visiting Vantastic and continuing to make donations to our charitable cause.”

GIFT Café is part of Retain Wellbeing CIC and is a not for profit organisation.

https://www.facebook.com/retainwellbeing/

https://www.facebook.com/GiftCafePuddington/

https://www.facebook.com/GIFTCafeAnfield/

Pictured - Caroline Hutton and Cathrina Moore, Directors of Gift Cafe.