Highworth Forget-Me-Not began in 2019 as part of a community campaign to make Highworth a Dementia Friendly town. Thanks to the fantastic support of the then Mayor of Highworth, Julia Bishop, this goal was proudly achieved in October 2019.

To celebrate, a special event was held in the Highworth Council Room. The response was so positive that it sparked the idea of creating something lasting — and so our monthly Memory Café was born. An inaugural meeting with local partners took place on 10 December 2019, followed by our first trustees’ meeting on 29 January 2020, where our initial constitution was agreed by Ruth Coughlin, Kevin O'Donoghue and Paul Barrow.

Our first cafés were held in February and March 2020, but like so many community groups, we had to pause in-person meetings during the Covid lockdowns. Determined to stay connected, we continued gathering online via Zoom until September 2021, when we were finally able to meet face-to-face again.

In March 2022 we introduced monthly Love to Move seated exercise sessions, which quickly became popular and have since grown into twice-monthly sessions. The same year also saw the launch of Friendship Fridays — a weekly café-style gathering with a special focus on reducing social isolation in Highworth and the surrounding areas.

Our activities continued to grow, and in July 2023 we introduced a twice-monthly Dementia-Friendly Sing-along, bringing even more joy, connection and shared moments to our community.

None of this would be possible without the generous support of our local partners. We are incredibly grateful to:
• Highworth Town Council for the free use of facilities and a grant to fund our Love to Move sessions
• Coventry Building Society, our local community partner, for their financial support and occasional volunteer help
• Wiltshire Community Foundation, who awarded us a significant grant in February 2024 to support our running costs for two years (at a time when all café roles, apart from Love to Move, were carried out by volunteers)
• Highworth Lions, for providing their minibus and volunteer drivers for our event

 

A special thanks goes to Julie Murphy, Highworth's Mayor for choosing us as her Charity of the Year for two years running. Her continued support, enthusiasm and fundraising efforts have made real difference to our work and the people we support. We truly appreciate her committment to our community and the time and energy she has given to helping us grow.

 

In 2025 we were thrilled to be awarded funding from the National Lottery Community Fund. This generous support allows us to pay our activity coordinator for two years and frees up other funding so we can reach even more people in need of connection, compassion and community.

Highworth Forget-Me-Not continues to grow thanks to the kindness, dedication and community spirit of everyone involved — and we’re so proud of the welcoming, supportive space we’ve created together.
 

And whether you’ve attended our gatherings, volunteered your time, donated resources or simply cheered us on — you’ve helped build something truly special too!