Major cash award for dementia charity in memory of opera lover Joan

LEADING South Yorkshire dementia charity Lost Chord has been awarded a £10,000 grant by national insurance company LV’s Member Community Fund.

The LV Member Community Fund is designed to help good causes close to its members’ hearts. And it was Sheffield woman Christine Cornwell who put forward Lost Chord to the fund’s administrators as a tribute to her close friend Joan Young.

Both women were and are keen fans of international soprano and Lost Chord patron Lesley Garrett so following Joan’s death Christine applied to the LV Member Community Fund for a £10,000 donation for the charity that provides vital interactive musical experiences for people living with dementia in care homes and day centres both across the region and nationally.

“We had already received an extremely generous gift from donations at Joan’s funeral but then to receive an extra £10,000 was more than we could ever have hoped for,” said Lost Chord Chief Executive Helena Muller. “A donation of this scale means we can guarantee providing a session each month in seven residential homes for another full year and that will have a major impact on the lives of 150 people living with dementia.

“As one of our most enthusiastic and active supporters, Lesley Garrett was absolutely over the moon to hear that a love of her music had inspired so generous a gift. “I am told that Joan was an incredibly thoughtful and generous person therefore her friend Christine was determined to make something good out of her death.

“By making her application to the LV Member Community Fund Christine really has ensured that Joan’s final wish has come true.”

To find out more about the work of Lost Chord and how to get involved call 01709 811160