Love to Move deliverers celebrated for the difference they make to their community.
Love to Move deliverers Cherry and Anna attended a Royal Garden Party with Royals Kate, William and Anne, just days after the Coronation.
The best friends run Love to Move classes in West Sussex. Jackie, whose father attends Cherry and Anna’s class, felt moved to nominate them to attend a Garden party at Buckingham Palace for the difference that they make for her father and the others attending their classes.
Here is what Jackie had to say about the classes:
“There is movement, rhythm, music, quizzes, on a weekly basis – The exercises stimulate the brain and help it to function, to coordinate, and it really helps with confidence…and more importantly in my eyes is HOW Anna and Cherry go about this – with love, with humour, with skill. They are both such lovely women; sweet, humble, giving.”
Jackie’s Father has Alzheimer’s “He has really struggled with the condition, mourns the loss of his memory, gets quite low at times. The Love to Move session is a boost of positivity in his life – he leaves there in a refreshed and better frame of mind, ‘that was fun’ – is a wonderful thing to hear. He loves how they (Anna and Cherry) smile all the time – and they do smile all the time.”
Both Cherry and Anna have a personal connection and understanding of dementia from supporting relatives and running dementia cafes. They heard about the Love to Move course through Cherry’s gymnastics background, “My children got me involved in gymnastics and I went on to coach preschool children. When the Love to Move course came up, I could see straight away that there was a real purpose for it.”
They completed their training just before Covid, and while that meant that some plans had to change, they did not let that stop them continuing classes online. It’s clear that Cherry and Anna go the extra mile for the people attending their classes, supporting them in finding other dementia friendly groups, “It’s a good way of being able to help people to find ways to cope with their situation. You get so involved with all the journeys – it’s a privilege. You know that you’re giving something really beneficial.”
Cherry told us how it feels to have been nominated “Very lovely – incredibly lovely to be to be thanked – quite humbling. The groups are just so proud! I’m looking forward to just doing something totally different – enjoying a nice cup of tea and doing a bit of people watching.”
