For the last 15 years, a team of dedicated volunteers has moved around Deeside offering support to people with dementia.
But yesterday the Forget-Me-Not Club opened a new £500,000 resource centre in Banchory – giving patients and their carers a “second home”.
Bennett House will provide a place for dementia sufferers to meet, and a source of advice for family members, carers or anyone with concerns about the condition.
Yesterday, the charity’s president Sheila Ferres said the facility was “absolutely magnificent”.
The 90-year-old made a substantial donation towards the resource centre in memory of her sister, Ailsa Bennett, who died six years ago of vascular dementia.
Mrs Ferres has been involved with the club since it started in 1999, and regularly donates money from her artwork through her own charity Chart.
One of the first pieces she created to benefit the charity is now on the wall in the centre’s activity and dining room, beside a plaque which she unveiled yesterday.
Mrs Ferres said: “It’s absolutely magnificent. I don’t think they could have done anything nicer, they’ve done a wonderful job.”
The centre – which was once a family home – contains a fully-equipped kitchen as well as large activity and dining room. There is also a secure garden, which contains a log cabin and gazebo, donated by Deeside Log Cabins. One of the garden areas will be named after one of the club’s first volunteers Willie Spittal.
Heather Morrison, operational director for the Forget-Me-Not Club, said every element of the centre had been carefully planned to meet the needs of dementia sufferers.
“Black isn’t a good colour for people with dementia, as it is perceived as a hole. I wanted two separate taps rather than a mixed one, and I made a point of saying we wanted traditional flushes on the toilets instead of the more modern push flushes,” she said.
“I think people thought I was being pedantic, but I was just trying to get it right for the service users. It’s very humbling to see it all finally finished. Many minds and many hearts have made this possible.”
The centre, on Arbeadie Road, Banchory, will be open to the public on Monday from 10am-noon, again from 2pm-4pm and in the evening from 6pm-8pm.