MND

We are delighted to have been accepted as a charity member of the Cowes Business Association and we would like to tell you a little bit about us. The IOW branch of the MND Association was formed in 1996 and is run entirely by volunteers, many of whom have personal experience of the disease. Our aim is to provide the best possible support to local people living with MND and their families and carers. We also focus on raising awareness of the disease, the association and fundraising. Please visit the branch website under the heading of “Recent News” to download a copy of our newsletter:

www.mndiw.org.uk .

MND is a rapidly progressive neurodegenerative disease that can affect any one at any time, and at the moment there is no known cure. However – scientists are making headway, but research can only progress if it is funded properly.

One of our biggest fundraising efforts was “The Ice Bucket Challenge” in 2014. Participants were encouraged to film themselves pouring a bucket of ice water over their head and then nominate someone else to do the same, the forfeit being if they didn’t comply within 24 hours, they had to make a charitable financial donation. Many celebrities go involved and the craze went viral, £millions were raised worldwide.

2020 saw more awareness raised by high profile sports personalities Doddie Weir and Rob Burrows, both previous successful rugby stars who are now both living with this cruel disease.  Doddie Weir – Scottish former rugby union player – was diagnosed in 2017 and he has set up a charity “My name’5 Doddie Foundation” and Rob Burrows – former Leeds Rhinos scrum half was diagnosed in 2019 and they have both received coverage by BBC TV.

Robs team mate Kevin Sinfield ran a gruelling 7 marathons in 7 days which you may have seen reported on BBC Breakfast TV. Kevin has now handed the baton of the 7 in 7 challenge over to the public so if you fancy doing 7 runs/walks/cycles etc in 7 days to raise money for MND for the IOW branch we would be delighted to hear from you.

There are still so many people who have never heard of the disease, so we must keep this public awareness going as we strive for a world free of MND.

The IOW branch raises funds for local people on the island, but without the high-profile events research would not be progressing at the speed it is now. Sadly, due to the pandemic nearly all fundraising events on the island have been cancelled, but we continue to support local people living with MND and their families whenever they need us, so we are grateful for donations received from various supporters.

If you would like to support the charity, or choose us as your charity of the year then we will be eternally grateful because “IF YOU CAN HELP A LITTLE, WE CAN CHANGE A LOT”.