A COMMUNITY group has won a major grant boost to increase the awareness of dementia following an announcement by the Aviva Community Fund.

One Voice Blackburn has been given the money to their Remember the Times project to create an extra 1000 dementia friends in the Blackburn with Darwen area by the end of 2019. 10 Dementia Champions will help to deliver awareness sessions into the community.

A dementia friends champion is a volunteer who encourages others to make a positive difference to people living with dementia in their community. They do this by giving them information about the personal impact of dementia, and what they can do to help.

People can become a dementia friend by attending a face-to-face dementia friends information session delivered by a champion. Dementia friends is about learning more about dementia and the small ways you can help. From telling friends about dementia friends to visiting someone you know living with dementia, every action counts.

Remember the Times competed with over 3,000 community projects around the UK to receive funding as part of the Aviva Community Fund 2018.

The nationwide initiative, now in its forth year, called upon local supporters to champion a project in their area to be in with a chance of securing funding ranging from £1,000 up to £25,000.

Zaffer Khan, Chief Executive Officer at One Voice Blackburn said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have received this good news for the people of Blackburn and Darwen who will be the beneficiaries of this award. As an organisation we have created over 500 dementia friends in the local area and this funding will allow us to create another 1,000."