A PROJECT designed to help people in the area living with Dementia was honoured with the Health and Care Award.

The Memory Box Project, led by the Wessex Heritage Trust, was set up in 2016. They designed 24 sensory boxes around 12 different themes, containing original and replica items that come from social history collections in Hampshire museums, as well as private donations.

These boxes are designed to stimulate the three senses of smell, touch, and sound to trigger memories.

The award was given by executive director of BMI The Hampshire Clinic Bruce Robinson, who said: “The Memory Box Project is a truly special project that has had an enormous impact on lives of local people, helping them cope with dementia through positive experiences and sensory stimuli.”

Collecting the BMI The Hampshire Clinic-sponsored award was Memory Box Project manager Heather Parkinson. She said: “It’s amazing, we are so proud to have won. We are really proud and grateful to our volunteers who keep the operation going, it’s absolutely brilliant.

“It exploded in popularity and got more popular that we really expected. We’ve got more branches and other projects in the works now, and the support that we have received from everyone has been incredible. We are now looking at moving into even more care homes, and progressing further with our other projects, such as Memory Lane. Other places are now on board, and we are looking forward to spreading the project further.”

RUNNERS UP: Hampshire Hospitals Volunteer Befriending Service and Dr Milad Shadrooh, the Singing Dentist