Mansfield businesswoman becomes ambassador for 'vital' friendship club in tribute to her beloved mum

Sarah Dyer’s mum Maureen sadly passed away in 2019 after a battle with dementia, and the 51-year-old has offered to volunteer for the Cornwater Evergreens to ensure it can continue providing its vital services to its members.

Sarah says the friendship club played a huge part in her mum’s life in her final years and helped them both to get through as her mum’s health deteriorated.

She has now become an ambassador for the club, based at Main Road in Ravenshead, and volunteers each week to ensure it can continue its work.

She explains: “Four years ago I knew that my mum needed more in terms of socialisation and stimulation, but I struggled to find anything in Mansfield.

“I was running my own business and needed something else for her to take the pressure off of us both.

“Eventually I found Cornwater and we brought her in for her free trial.

"I wasn't sure if she would take to it, but she said ‘what a breath of fresh air’ and I knew she was in the right place.”

Sarah says her mum looked forward to her visits and it helped them to spend precious time together in a relaxing environment.

"One of the key things was that they never mentioned dementia, which I think was really important,” Sarah continued.

"It helped both of us, and I think it’s vital to have something like this for those who are vulnerable or who are isolated in the area.

"When mum passed away, I wanted to give something back to them to say thank you.

"I knew I wanted to volunteer, so as soon as I felt able to, I contacted them and offered my services.”

Melissa Blythe coordinates the groups and says she was delighted that Sarah wanted to volunteer as a tribute to her mum.

She explained: "We enjoyed having Sarah and her mum when they came, and the members love Sarah, so it was an easy decision to offer her a role as an ambassador.

"Our volunteers are at the heart of everything we do.”

For more information on Cornwater, email [email protected].

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