Volunteering gives me a positive focus
Jenny and her husband Andrew are joint Group Coordinators of the Greater Manchester South West Group, formerly the Trafford and South West Manchester Group. Jenny shares her experiences volunteering with us over the last 13 years and tells us about the exciting recent merger with the Salford Group.
My husband was diagnosed with MS when he was 35. Initially, we were focused on keeping him working. Then when he got ill-health retirement, he took on being Chair (now Group Coordinator) of our local group. I got involved as the Events Coordinator while I was still working as a nurse. As time went by, we became joint Group Coordinators, which we’ve been for the past eight years.
Everyone works together
When we started, we were the young ones. Over time, long-standing members stepped back, but we’ve been so lucky with the people who’ve since come along. They’ve had the skills and abilities to keep us moving forward, adapting to moving online and new ways of doing things.
My proudest achievement in the role is getting and keeping the committee. We’ve got a fantastic team. There’s nine of us, and everyone brings such value. Everyone works together to get things done and is very supportive of one another. There’s no judgement if someone can’t take something on.
I draw up the agenda for and chair our committee meetings, and I take care of our group Facebook page. Otherwise, my role is supporting members with whatever’s going on and getting stuck in with events. I think I’m in every single WhatsApp group we’ve got!
We do yoga classes, seated dance and tai chi. We offer free counselling. We had a big information event about wellbeing last April, where Beccy Huxtable did a talk about having MS. We do regular in-person meetups, like coffee mornings and pub trips. We just sit and chat, and it’s lovely. We have Christmas events – we’ll have about 26 people attending this year!
Every year for the last few years, we’ve got together as a team for the MS Walk Manchester to raise money for our group. It’s so fun, with a carnival atmosphere. We all walk, roll and stroll, wearing our bright orange T-shirts, and meet amazing and fascinating people along the way.
We also put on information stalls at GP surgeries in different areas. It’s great for healthcare professionals to know about our group so they can signpost people to us, and it also helps to get the word out to the public. One of our volunteers sorted out all the leaflets and posters, which we leave in surgeries, social hubs and libraries.
Merging with the Salford Group was a great achievement
Merging with the Salford Group was a great achievement. Everyone’s been just amazing. The community banded together and made things happen so that we can reach more people in the MS community. I’m so grateful for everything they’ve done.
At the same time, the group and community have supported us. We had to take a step back just as we’d made the decision to merge, but the wonderful people we know through our volunteering supported us.
We’ve already started doing events in Salford, including trips to the RHS Garden Bridgewater. Next year, we’re doing a big joint event with the Stockport and South East Manchester group, which we’re hosting in Salford. It’s important we get things going on the ground.
It’s so enriching
Volunteering with the MS Society has given us so much as a couple and as a family. It’s been good for our children to see other families who’re affected by MS, and it gives me a positive focus. And I think it's helpful for people affected by MS to have positive things to focus on. We don’t have to talk about MS necessarily, though of course it comes up. But it’s not like we have to sit and discuss the condition for hours, because we’re busy working together trying to achieve things and fundraise.
The best bit about volunteering is meeting other people, including the partners and families of members who have MS. We’ve made lots of great friends, and it’s so enriching.
