Our Story
Erin Singleton, Founder & Executive Director
Erin Singleton established Blue Flamingo in 2021 as a community outreach programme. Driven by her personal experience of caring for a loved one living with dementia, she saw that carers needed help shouldering the burden of their caring responsibilities. In January 2024, Blue Flamingo was established as a Community Interest Company.
Erin's passion, experience and dedication continue to shape the programming offered by Blue Flamingo, which is dedicated to supporting vulnerable able older adults, particularly those living with dementia, and their carers through cafe-style sessions, music, and activities. Their ‘no-barrier-to-entry’ ethos means that there is no entry fee, no requirement for diagnosis, and advanced booking is not required.
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Blue Flamingo Community Hub is largely volunteer-led and relies on fundraisers, grants, and donations from the community to continue their important work.
See for yourself!
Nothing conveys the magic of Blue Flamingo better than seeing us in action. This video shows what makes us so special.
What you will find in our sessions
Warm welcome
Everyone who walks through our door is greeted with a smile and given a warm and friendly welcome. We intend for Blue Flamingo Cafe to be an inclusive place where anyone in our community can visit to enjoy food, music and activities in the company of others.
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Music
Music has always been at the heart of Blue Flamingo Cafe. Whether it's sing-alongs with Annie or drumming with Jon, music features at each of our venues. In Ashton, we offer two sing-along sessions per month. In Penwortham, we offer weekly sing-along sessions. In Fulwood, we have a sing-along once a month. See our schedule for more information.​
Movement
Whether it's doing the conga, dancing to the Hokey Cokey or taking part in chair yoga, we encourage people to get moving!
As an inclusive group, we have people with a wide range of mobility issues and we find ways for them to move that works for them.
Creativity
Creativity lies at the heart of what we do and finding ways for people to connect through games and activities is one of our driving forces. From playing games to doing jigsaws; from gardening to woodwork to arts & crafts, we offer a variety of activities which promote cognitive stimulation and build personal connections. Sometimes these activities are led by local community groups such as: Dig In, Let's Grow Preston and Rosemary & Time.
Support for carers
We hold Carer Support Circle sessions on the 4th Tuesday of every month at our venue in Ashton (St Michael & All Angels). During these sessions our members have an opportunity to share advice with other carers. We also bring in a range of community, social and healthcare services to share information with carers and help provide them with the support they need in caring for their loved ones.
Some of our community links include:
AgeUK Lancashire, Lancashire County Council, Lancashire Carers Service, Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service, Regenerage, UCLan
Intergenerational connections
We believe that a community is at its best when young and old are brought together. Several of our volunteers have school-aged children. Because we remain open even when schools are closed, their children join us during some of our sessions. Having forged a relationship with a local primary school, we are regularly visited by children who sit alongside our members to chat, play games and do jigsaws. This kind of connection is not only heart-warming, it helps children to understand what ageing looks like and helps reduce the stigma attached to illnesses like dementia.
