A SOMERSET-BASED project which supports older people with music workshops has been shortlisted to receive up to £50,000 worth of funding.

The Memories with Music project, a collaboration between Somerset Care and Musica, received an initial grant from the Big Lottery fund in 2015 to support a six month project.

It has now been invited to the final of the People's Project which is run by the Big Lottery Fund and ITV, and needs your help.

The project could be given up to £50,000 worth of funding to help progress it, supporting regular interactive workshops for residents, day care customers and additional training for staff.

A film based on the project will be broadcast on ITV's regional news programme on March 22 at 6pm.

In order to secure the funding, Memories for Music will need to win enough votes in its region - ITV West Country East.

Project lead and Somerset Care operations manager, Sue Harvey, said: “It would be absolutely wonderful to secure additional funding to continue our ‘Memories with Music’ project with Musica.

"The impact the workshops have on our residents is overwhelming and we would really like to offer this project up to older people living in the community.

"The additional funding would allow us to work with Musica to train our own staff in how to deliver the workshops, meaning that we can offer this on a regular basis alongside our varied activities programmes.”

The successful six month project involved over 400 residents in Somerset Care's care homes.

Each month, Musica held an interactive musical workshop, which was enjoyed by all the residents.

The project is especially great for those with dementia as it enhances their communication, increased their mental wellbeing and elevated their mood.

One of the participating homes witnessed a non-verbal resident who lives with dementia singing along to one of the songs in a workshop, something that brought tears to staff members’ eyes.

Rosie Mead, founder of Musica, said: “There is a really strong link between music and personal memories; we know this from our own personal experiences.

"We may particularly remember songs associated with our teenage years, first love and holidays.

"Even for people living with severe dementia, music can bring back memories that may have been long forgotten.

"In our previous project with Somerset Care, we saw residents who normally found it difficult to communicate, but were able to sing songs from start to finish.”

You can register to vote for this project at thepeoplesprojects.org.uk on March 20 from 9am.

The voting period closes on April 3, and Somerset Care and Musica are encouraging as many people as possible to vote.