Some people see their late 70s as a time to wind down and relax. But not Karen Bernard. Over the 12 months between her 79th and 80th birthday, Karen is aiming to visit as many of Scotland’s museums as possible – perhaps even all of them! Not just for the fun of it, but for a fantastic cause: Supporting people living with dementia across Scotland by raising much-needed funds for Alzheimer Scotland. Her challenge has already taken her to museums from Orkney to the Borders.
Alzheimer Scotland has worked with several museums across Scotland but none more so than the Scottish Football Museum at Hampden Park. Since 2010, Alzheimer Scotland has worked in partnership with the Scottish Football Museum on Football Memories Scotland, which now delivers over 500 football reminiscence groups for people with dementia across Scotland. The Scottish Football Museum were delighted to host Karen for her 79th museum visit since the start of her challenge in April 2023.
Karen said: “It has been wonderful visiting the Scottish Football Museum today and finding out so much about Scotland’s football history, particularly the new exhibits about the story of the women’s game. It’s also been fantastic to find out how much the museum does to support people with dementia all over the country. I have seen the impact of dementia on people close to me and the cause is very close to my heart – which is why I’m determined to raise as much as I can for Alzheimer Scotland.”
Richard McBrearty, Project Director of the Football Memories Project and Curator of the Scottish Football Museum, said: “It was lovely to be able to welcome Karen to the Scottish Football Museum as part of her amazing year-long challenge to raise funds for people living with dementia. We’re committed to not only being a dementia-friendly location for people to visit and enjoy here at Hampden Park, but also using Scotland’s football heritage in therapeutic activities for people with dementia all over the country. Karen’s fundraising will help to support this vital work.”
Find out more about Karen’s fundraising challenge and support her here.