Groups making a difference at the heart of communities

Four very different but equally important community groups have been recognised with a nomination for the BBC Radio Cornwall Make a Difference Awards.

The shortlist is made up of groups that focus on LGBT history, on campaigning for the rights of people with disabilities, on memory loss and on cancer support.

The topics might be serious but the staff, volunteers and clients of these Cornish collectives wanted to talk about the fun, companionship, togetherness and love they felt in each and every session.

The winner of the Community Group category will be revealed at a ceremony in Truro in September.

It is clear to see the pride and passion that Francesca from the Cornwall Down Syndrome Advisory Group, has in the work it does.

Francesca has the lifelong genetic condition herself and said: "The advisory group is helping people with Down Syndrome all around Cornwall, we help them to find out about the law, we also find out what the rights are for people with Down Syndrome and how our lives can change."

This community group has been honoured for its tireless efforts to help to shape local and national policy and improve the lives of people with the condition, including publishing books, guides and taking a trip to Westminster.

Francesca explained why the nomination for the BBC Radio Cornwall Make a Difference Award mattered to her, saying: "It's really important and we were so, so happy.

"I was really, really happy because me, Chloe and Ted have been working so, so hard under the Down Syndrome group to work for them to get this award, to make a difference."

Monday afternoons are never quiet at the Carnon Downs Village Hall, when the WI Knit and Stitch group meet.

The friendly group focuses all its efforts on charity, such as knitting support cushions for breast cancer patients and items for the premature baby unit at the Royal Cornwall Hospital and other local charities.

Heart-shaped pillows are a speciality of Maureen Stones, and she has made 4,045 of them in nearly 17 years.

She laughed: "When I was given them at first, I thought 'Easy, two heart-shaped pieces of material, stuff it, and you're done' but no, there are seven pieces to the cushion, but I enjoy it.

"We always put ribbons and lace on because we decided right at the start these cushions needed to be pretty, because when you think what the ladies have been through, they need a bit of a boost."

The knitters get their own entertainment out of their efforts. One of the organisers Diana Cooch said: "I don't think anybody here goes home without having had a giggle."

"We're here, we're queer and we always have been."

Sophie Meyer is on a mission to look into what she calls "the queer history of Cornwall" and to share that with the wider community.

"My background is in museums and archaeology and from working within the sector I realised that actually we were not reaching my community," Meyer said.

"So it really inspired me to look into the archives, look into the catalogues and find those stories that had been overlooked and just try and break down that barrier of making the LGBT community to feel part of history and feel proud to be Cornish and be part of the story of Cornwall."

The work of Queer Kernow CIC was started at the Royal Cornwall Museum in 2017 and has inspired workshops, papers and publications, while the website is a living research hub.

Hayle Memory Cafe meets twice a month to offer friendship and support to people with memory difficulties and their carers, and has been doing so since 2017.

The volunteer chair Christine Price said the first and third Mondays of the month were important for many people, saying: "It's a place to come to get support, friendship, an afternoon where you can go without worry about anything that might happen because everybody is in the same boat.

"Carers can come and share coping techniques, they can have a normal conversation over a coffee and a cake which perhaps everybody else takes for granted that they can go out and do.

"It's just somewhere, a space for friendship and happiness."

Craft activities, live performers and reminiscence sessions are just some of the entertainments on offer at the Hayle Memory Cafe, which uses the town's rugby club as a venue.

The BBC Radio Cornwall Make a Difference Awards are in their fifth year. The winning Community Group nominee and the winner in the other categories will be announced at a ceremony in Truro in September.

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