Good evening! Here's hoping that everybody is safely tucked up at home on this stormy night. Brr!
The last few months have been an action packed time for Without Wings. Now we've been up and running with the website for a few weeks, and things are finally beginning to settle into a more cohesive rhythm, it feels a good time to take stock. Firstly, many people are asking about groups/ support networks. We have shared information regarding existing groups on our information page and are trying to keep on top of any local meets via our Facebook page. Please please let us know if we've missed anyone off. We have also thought about what style any Without Wing's meets might take. In line with our 'positive living' agenda, we have therefore decided that really the key word here is inclusivity. This means that any meetings will be: 1. open to the extended community of people affected by these illnesses, including family and friends 2. fun/ interesting. Some time around Easter we will therefore experiment with this idea by holding a Manx RAmble in one of the plantations. This will be followed by soup and rolls (tbc). Please let us know if you think you might like to attend - either alone or with your children/ partners/ grandchildren/ close friends, so we can start thinking more clearly regarding a venue! We would love to hear from you. Next up - our blog! Now things are settling down we're going to experiment with writing the blog every other week - not every week. We are also looking to invite in the occasional guest blogger... So keep watching this space! Thirdly, back when we had our press release in January, several families of children with JIA (juvenile idiopathic arthritis) came forward and formed a little group. When we asked this group what they really needed and where we could help, the answer that came back loud and clear was 'AWARENESS!' And so came the idea of a February JIA awareness campaign. This week really saw the campaign get off the ground. On Tuesday, JIA group representative, Cat Haxby and Without Wing's Chair, Jackie, joined forces and went on Manx Radio's Women Today programme! You can listen to their collective interview here... http://www.manxradio.com/radioplayer/od/6678/ until next Monday. Cat is mum to 9 year old super champ Rio. She is also planning a charity car wash end of March at the Grandstand in aid of Without Wings! Details to be confirmed. Cat and Rio were also the faces behind our 'Inspirational Story' last week. Then, to top all of this, Without Wings invited one of the Island's youngest sufferers, Isaac Megson aged three, and his mother, Nicola, to name the bird on our logo! We gave them a list to help them decide but in the end they chose their own and it was... Lula! We're delighted! We announced the name on Random Acts of Kindness Day. To conclude JIA awareness, we will hopefully be hearing more about Nicola and Isaac's story in the local press - details of this to be finalised next week! Lastly, we are always looking for inspirational stories as these are so helpful to people living with these conditions. In particular, we want to hear from people who have something positive to say regarding the following: 1. coping well in the workplace 2. coping well with a diagnosis later in life 3. coping well even when you've had one of these conditions for many years. 4. Tips on how to cope positively as a parent to a young family. That's all for now! Have a fantastic couple of weeks!
2 Comments
Brenda Sutters
3/3/2017 02:10:59 pm
Very interesting reading ,unfortunately I can't get to any of your
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Without Wings
3/4/2017 12:27:03 am
Thank you, how lovely of you to comment. 💓
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