More than 10,000 people have descended on the PramaLife charity superstore since it opened its doors on Castle Lane, Bournemouth, in February this year.

Eight thousand purchases have been made to date and sales have helped the charity to provide further support for the county’s older population to lead independent and fulfilling lives. With £17,500 of financial support from Talbot Village Trust, a grant-giving charity that supports worthy causes across east Dorset, PramaLife was able to secure and refurbish premises at the Westover Retail Park, Bournemouth, opening its first-ever superstore and significantly increasing its visibility in the area.

Sales from store purchases are set to generate around £28,000 to fund PramaLife in supporting people with dementia throughout 2023/24. This income will be used to fund five weekly Memory Lane support groups for people living with dementia and their carers across Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole and east Dorset, with each group welcoming up to 70 people a week.

Christopher Beale, Programmes Director at Prama, said: “PramaLife has seen a significant increase in the group sessions we are delivering and the people we are supporting. In 2019/20 PramaLife delivered 377 group sessions for 3,427 participants and in 2022/23 this more than doubled to 712 sessions and 7,412 participants. Evidently, more local people are requiring care of this nature and therefore it is key that we have the funds to deliver even more support sessions and the support shown by our superstore customers to date is helping us with this mission.”

He added: “It is very important that we have local funders like Talbot Village Trust who understand what is going on in the communities of BCP and east Dorset. The Trust’s investment in PramaLife has ensured that we can continue to sustain important support services for older adults experiencing dementia as well as their carers. We cannot thank them enough.”

A PramaLife group user said: “The group means a great deal to me. It has helped me through the darkest time of my life. The whole group is welcoming, friendly and understanding.”

Caroline Cooban, Chief Executive Officer at Talbot Village Trust, commented: “It was a pleasure to have supported PramaLife with the necessary funding to open its first-ever superstore in the county. All of us at the Trust are looking forward to hearing more on the on-going impact this new offering has for the people in need.”

Talbot Village Trust awards up to £1million every year, supporting various causes to youth organisations, education groups and community-focused projects. The charity is encouraging further local causes to apply for funding ahead of its application deadline on 31st July.

For more information visit www.talbotvillagetrust.org