Community / MS Society in urgent need for more regular income
THE LOCAL branch of the MS Society has launched a major fundraising effort to mark its diamond anniversary this spring.
The charity needs to raise as much as £20,000 to be able to continue supporting up to local 100 clients who live with multiple sclerosis.
The group helps people with the lifelong condition by enabling access to a variety of therapies that would otherwise not be funded.
Secretary Alyson Halcrow said the local group was spending around £26,000 annually to support those with the condition and their families.
This includes access to fatigue management classes, Swedish massage, upper limb classes, talking therapy and one-to-one physiotherapy sessions. There is also a taxi service available.
Shetland, as well as Orkney, have a particularly high prevalence of MS and research is ongoing to understand why that is the case.
Once diagnosed, which often is in a person’s 40s or 50s but sometime as young as in their 20s or even younger, people have to live with the condition for the rest of their lives. There is as yet no cure and the only help is to manage the degenerative condition and its symptoms.
With the 60th anniversary of the local group approaching this spring, there is no real guarantee that the volunteers will be able to continue with their commitments as funds are running low.
Halcrow said: “We will be able to keep going for another six months, so we need to raise more money.
“This is such a worthwhile charity supporting people on so many levels, it needs to continue.”
She said the group was applying for funding from the various charitable pots of money available in Shetland but, in addition, a long-term mechanism needed to be found to secure the group’s work.
To this end she appealed to local businesses and individuals to consider supporting the local group on a more regular basis through donations and subscription.
She said: “A couple of local businesses have donated some big prizes for this draw – NorthLink and EnQuest.
“However long term and regular financial commitments from local businesses would be amazing and really helpful in helping us to continue what we are doing.”
Raffle tickets will go on sale during this week’s Shetland Folk Festival as well as and are planned to be available at a number of other notable events such as the visit of the Tall Ships Races in July and the annual Shetland Wool Week at the end of September.
Halcrow said local businesses had donated “some big prizes” and the winner would be revealed during a prize draw on 7 October.
The MS Society Shetland group can be contacted via its Facebook age at: https://www.facebook.com/MSSShetland
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