Warwickshire dementia cafe recognised in Jubilee award

Carole Zambonini receiving her MBE from the Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire Tim Cox

A woman who runs a free dementia support cafe has been recognised with a special award to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

Carole Zambonini set up the Alcester Cafe in Warwickshire in 2012, which is run twice a week by volunteers.

She has been awarded the Platinum Champion Award by the Royal Voluntary Service to recognise her work.

Ms Zambonini said: "I would like to take this opportunity to emphasise the value of volunteering".

The Royal Voluntary Service is a charity that mobilises volunteers to support communities and the NHS.

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, said the new awards presented an "opportunity to celebrate the remarkable contribution of all volunteers, who truly are the backbone of our country".

'Blown away'

Ms Zambonini started volunteering and helping people with dementia after her mother was diagnosed and she felt that there was not enough support available.

She set up Alcester Cafe after her mother died because "I didn't want them to struggle as we had done," she said.

It provides free support, activities and refreshments to people living with dementia as well as their families and carers.

The judges said they were "blown away with [Ms Zambonini's] resilience in the face of her own personal difficulties".

She was recognised in 2020 with an MBE for personally ringing every person that she supports every week during the pandemic when the cafe had to close.

Ms Zambonini said her award was a "collaborative effort from other committee members and volunteers for the cafe and the day care who have been supporting us from the beginning".

She said her next challenge would be to raise money for a new space to host both the cafe and day care centre for which she has already managed to raise about £100,000.