Elderberries, the place where memories are made
A CAMPBELTOWN group is helping elderly people remember the best years of their lives by creating their own memory books.
Members of Shopper-Aide’s over-60s’ club, Elderberries, have been getting creative, using photos and a collection of crafty materials, to put together a scrapbook of their lives.
Group member Rita Lawson, 84, who attended a staff and volunteer training day on making memory books, was creating a special book when the Courier’s reporter popped in. Shopper-Aide project manager Joan Stewart said: ‘Rita is very lucky to have lots of photos, so she has made not just one, but many memory books, covering different stages of her life.’
Those who have only a few photos can join in too.
Thanks
‘Some elderly people may not have as many pictures as Rita,’ Joan added, ‘But everyone can make a book - thanks to people like Marlyn Moffat at the Heritage Centre we have photos of most local churches, schools, hospitals etc from over the years, so we can fill in the blanks.’
Sessional worker Heather Anderson added: ‘We can even use generic, stock images to represent things, so there are always alternatives.’
Housebound
‘The club members also help each other out - one lady had a group photo of nurses and it turned out a couple of the others were in it too.’
Heather also visits elderly housebound people, supporting them to make scrapbooks in their own homes.
Joan said: ‘We would ask any older person to come along to our Elderberries sessions to make their own memory book, or get in touch and we will go and support them to make one in their own home.
‘It evokes memories and the members love chatting and reminiscing as they work on their books.’
Elderberries club meets every Tuesday and Thursday at the Free Church between noon and 4pm.