A COMMUNITY stalwart has been celebrated for her dedicated work running a day centre in Fordingbridge.

Maggie Kimberley, who had been chairman of the Fordingbridge Day Centre for the Frail and Housebound since 1996, died on March 18.

The Fordingbridge Day Centre for the Frail and Housebound meets at Avonway Community Centre.

Her involvement in supporting the community began even before this, initially with delivering Meals on Wheels and as a helper at the day centre before taking on the chairman role.

She devoted time and energy to organising the day centre for the residents of Fordingbridge and the surrounding villages, with the aim of providing clients with a hot meal, a friendly place for them to socialise and to be stimulated and entertained.

Her efforts were recognised in 2014 when she was awarded the Fordingbridge Citizen of the Year by the Rotary Club of Fordingbridge.

In performing her role as organiser, Maggie visited and assessed potential members, maintained contact with the families over clients’ health issues and involved herself in the weekly running of the day centre.

With the help of her volunteer team members, she organised summer and Christmas parties, regular entertainment with musicians, singers and choirs from local schools, and raffles and quizzes.

Maggie devoted more than 19 years to the running of the day centre and her contribution will be greatly missed both by the clients and by the many volunteer helpers.

Doreen Houghton, the secretary to the day centre for more than ten years, said: “It is testament to Maggie’s commitment that in order to ensure the successful continuity of the day centre, her work is now being shared among the remaining seven committee members, to do the job that she did single-handedly. Her shoes will be almost impossible to fill.”

Maggie’s funeral at St Mary’s Church in Fordingbridge on April 9 was followed by a wake at the Avonway Community Centre in the West Room where the day centre meets.

Apart from the day centre, Maggie enjoyed sharing time with her husband Roger and their family. She was a devoted animal lover and also enjoyed time in her garden. She was a much-loved friend and neighbour in the cul-de-sac where she lived.

A new team will be elected at the forthcoming annual general meeting in the North Room at Avonway Community Centre on Wednesday, May 6, at 2.15 pm.