Volunteering has helped me find my place again
Judith is the Group Coordinator of our Banbridge and District Group, established in 2022. She tells us about getting the group up and running – and how it’s thriving today.
I was diagnosed with MS in March 2017 and started attending the monthly meetings with my local group shortly after. We would meet up in Banbridge every month, but all our admin was done in Newry.
In 2022, we decided to form our own group. We wanted to become independent – do our own fundraising and have our own finances. I’d recently been medically retired because of my MS and was asked if I’d be interested in becoming the Group Coordinator. I’d worked in the Northern Ireland Civil Service helping customers with benefits for 22 years, so I had some admin skills.
Finding my voice
Initially, we were quite a small team, and it took a while for us to find our feet. At one point, it felt like I was doing all the roles. It was just too much, and I wanted to step down. But we talked it through and managed to find a happy medium. There’re about eight core volunteers now, and we’ve become a strong team who know what we’re doing.
For a while, I struggled with finding my voice. At first, I felt pulled in a more formal direction, but I wanted to shape our group in a way that reflected our community. I felt it needed to be more informal – a safe space.
We don’t have to talk about MS all the time. Certainly, we’re there to support people and signpost them to whatever they need. But it’s also about people being able to forget they have MS for a night. We can all just sit together and have fun. I want people to enjoy their time and look forward to the next meet up.
I’m really proud to have seen the group grow
We’ve recently moved where we hold our meetups to make them closer to town, so I’ve been busy getting that all worked out. I take care of communications like running our Facebook page. I support our Finance Volunteer as we get our banking system set up, and oversee our fundraising activities.
Our fundraising volunteers have done amazing events, like a second-hand book sale at a local supermarket, a fireside quiz and a Christmas raffle. We’ve had a lot of fun doing them. Me and my friend, a fellow volunteer, had to get on YouTube to look up how to wrap cellophane around a hamper – it’s those kind of wee things that’re so fun.
We offer reflexology, which is popular among the community. We’ve had a physiotherapist come along to one of our meet-ups to speak about functional electrical stimulation (FES) for foot drop. And we have a guest author coming along next month.
We do coffee and catch-ups. In the summer, some of us went trekking through a forest park on quadricycles. Just last week we were at the Grand Opera House – the second trip in the last year.
I really like thinking ahead and planning interesting things. I’m always looking out for opportunities, whether that’s for funding or activities. When someone says they enjoyed an event, it’s rewarding.
I’m really proud to have seen the group grow. At our monthly meetings, we used to have maybe six or seven people, and now we can have well over 20. And we’ve welcomed more men. We were largely women, so I imagine it was quite intimidating for men to walk into a room full of women. We’re trying to make sure we do activities that’re more inclusive. It’s taking a bit of thinking, but I’m really pleased to see the mix of people coming along.
Being Group Coordinator has helped me build my confidence back up
My favourite part about volunteering is meeting new people and seeing people have a great time. Partners often join our monthly get-togethers and outings, for support – but also for the craic. It’s lovely getting to know members and their families. I’m just interested in people, and I’ve made good friends. We’re a really fun group!
I want to do more for the local MS community, like putting on more information days and getting the group out and about. And I want to put ourselves out there to let people know that we’re here and what we offer. I’m excited about continuing to grow.
When I left work, I sort of lost my identity. I didn’t know who I was, and my confidence took a knock. But being Group Coordinator has helped me build my confidence back up. I’ve found my place again.
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