A ‘novel’ way of fundraising
Following Mae’s MS diagnosis, Sam and Mae joined the Larne and East Antrim Group as Fundraising Events Volunteers. Previously, Sam worked in financial services and Mae worked for the NHS as a biomedical scientist for 42 years. Now they’ve embarked on a new adventure raising funds for MS research through a commemorative project.
Joining the local support group was the best thing we could’ve done
Sam: Mae was diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS in September 2019. It was a very late diagnosis, and she’s probably had MS all her life.
We didn't consciously decide to volunteer. We joined the local group here in Carrickfergus as soon as Covid would allow. We just got involved and started doing things to help. Joining the local group was the best thing we could’ve done.
We’re a small group with a core of about 12 active members. We meet for coffee and lunch and have online quiz nights. And we have a very active WhatsApp group thing that’s always buzzing away! It’s a great way to stay connected.
Mae: I started organising days out to local historical and tourist places, such as Titanic Belfast and the city hall. These are well attended, and we’ll go for lunch together afterwards. The reward for me is that I love to see smiling faces and hearing people saying how much they’ve enjoyed the day out. We also have raffles, especially around Easter time. And sometimes we join in with other groups’ events.
Honouring loved ones through storytelling and fundraising
Sam: My mother died in the same week as Mae got her diagnosis. For a number of years before this, my mother had been telling me about her life growing up just after the war. The more she told me, the more I was impressed by what had happened to her and how she’d dealt with serious tragedy and trauma. I decided that when I retired, I was going to write a book about her life.
When Mae was diagnosed, the two things became linked in my head. I decided to donate all profits made from the sale of the book, ‘Dancehall Days’, to the MS Society to fund MS research.
I’ve become very interested in the research side of things. I’ve met Professor Denise Fitzgerald a couple of times. She’s the head of the Northern Ireland MS Research Hub at Queen’s University Belfast.
I've never written a book before and I naively thought that I could tell my mother’s story in one book, but it’s now going to be a trilogy. The first book is available on Amazon and part two will be published in the autumn.
We love the buzz of meeting people, telling our story and selling the book. It’s a ‘novel’ way of fundraising!
On the road
Sam: The first book took nearly four years to write. It was published just over a year ago now. Mae and I have both spent a lot of time travelling around physically selling the book. We’ve been all over Northern Ireland, often for overnight stays. We’ve visited other MS Society groups, garden centres, and shopping centres. We were at the Glenarm Castle and Garden Tulip Festival, and we’ve even had our own stall at St George’s Market in Belfast.
The reaction from people when we’ve been out and about has been fantastic – and informative, too. MS is different for everyone, and we’ve been able to connect with so many people over their own trials and tribulations and their memories of the dancehall days.
It can be a long day, but we love the buzz of meeting people, telling our story and selling the book. It’s a ‘novel’ way of fundraising!
A whole new world of adventures
Sam: In our retirement, we’ve had a whole new world of adventures. We’ve done things we never would’ve done and met great people we never would’ve met. This has kept us active, excited and engrossed. A year ago, I didn’t even have a Facebook page, and now I’ve published a book. It’s been a whole new lease of life.
Promoting the book requires time, but when you’re doing something that you love, you’ll get more out of it than just the time you put in. For me, volunteering is almost a selfish thing. In fact, we don't feel as if we are volunteering at all. It’s great craic, and the MS community is endlessly positive.
Mae: Don’t do it just because you think you should, but because it’s something you want to do. It’s the best thing we’ve ever got involved in!
Sam: Please buy ‘Dancehall Days’. I hope you enjoy it! Together, we can beat MS.
You can find Dancehall Days on Amazon. Profits from the sale of the book will be donated to the MS Society to fund MS research.
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