Volunteering opens your brain and heart to different things
Margaret tells us about some of the creative ways her group has fundraised, and shares some of the lessons and challenges she's faced along the way.
I was diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS in November 2008. It came as a massive blow, because I had an aunt who had struggled with MS. It took a while to come to terms with what it meant for me in the long run. I was a mother of three young children, and I was frustrated at how tired I felt, which is one of my main symptoms. It took me ages to do certain tasks like tidying the house, and then I’d have to rest before the kids came home from school so I could be strong for them. Sitting still wasn’t in my genes.
Learning to listen to my body
The medication has helped to manage my symptoms, but at the start I was going down a slippery slope until I began to accept my diagnosis and started listening to my body.
That’s the best advice I can give to anyone who has MS. Listen to your body! Understand the battery does go flat. You have to wait till it charges. And if you don't wait till it charges, it'll take longer to recover.
That’s a lesson I apply to volunteering too. I joined the Mid Ulster Group as a volunteer in 2009 and I’ve been a Finance Volunteer since around 2012. There’s only eight of us on the Coordinating Team, so we get involved where we can. We’re a supportive team and always back one another.
Putting the ‘fun’ into fundraising
We’ve done some fantastic fundraising events over the years to raise money for people with MS in our area. One of these is our handbag sale. An ex-volunteer of ours works in a shop and came up with the idea. We have bags going for a fiver, even some designer ones for a tenner, and everyone loves it. They donate a couple of handbags but leave the event with just as many new ones. It’s now grown to include costume jewellery, shoes and more. The last sale made thousands!
We've also been involved in cross-community concerts. Steven Wilson was a very successful one in Cookstown. Millar's Family from River Valais Flock has donated £4485 to us by auctioning off pedigree sheep to farmers at their barbeque event. We’ve had cake sales. There was a vintage car rally event nearby, so we got involved there and had face painting.
Connecting with the community
Anything that comes along, we’ll try to get involved in. We’ll do anything! And quite often people will come to us with these ideas and our volunteer group will help to make it happen. It really helps to know people in the community. We deal with churches and get involved in walks and tea parties.
We promote our events through WhatsApp and on social media. We put up posters in the doctors' surgeries. We have awareness stands in shopping centres. The events we attend help us to meet people and get the word of mouth out. A lot of people recognise me from when I’m wearing my orange t-shirt!
Putting the money to good use
We support people in the area with the money we raise. We have a reflexologist that goes to the homes of about 25 people. We have luncheon clubs and supper clubs that are attended by around 20 people, and we have a big annual Christmas dinner. We can have up to 60 people at those and we’ll cover the costs. Last year we received some funding from Tesco, which we had to apply for.
I love what our group does but I'd like to be more adventurous, and we will be. Just give it time!
We offer grants of £350 to support people with the cost of living. They’re mostly used to cover the cost of oil as most households in Northern Ireland heat their homes with it. We’ve also provided larger grants. For example, we’ve provided funding for a new bed for a married couple who were both diagnosed with MS, so they could sleep more comfortably together. That’s what our money’s for, to help as many people as possible and improve their quality of life.
Volunteering comes with its challenges
Volunteering doesn’t come without its challenges. A personal one for me is that a lot of people can’t see my MS. Everyone’s MS is different. So, I feel some people don't understand me, someone with MS may compare themselves to me, or I can be judged.
As a group, we struggle to get younger members to join. A lot of the functions we have are attended by an older demographic. I know everyone's lives are busy, particularly mummies and daddies, but we need them to connect with us. They need to realise that our group is their group for the future. But I know that’s a challenge across Northern Ireland.
Volunteering gives you the chance to learn from others
I love learning from people, and they've taught me a lot, good and bad. I’ve made tons of friends I never would have made without volunteering. And they're all in our peer group, so we all understand one another. If you’re thinking about volunteering, I’d say stop thinking and do it. You’ll get more out of it than you give. You’ll learn more than you ever thought you could learn. It opens your brain and your heart up to different things.