Tag Archives: Shift.ms

Nov 17 2016
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Daily Life

Please vote For Shift.ms …

shift-ms

An important guest post by George Pepper of shift.ms:

Shift.ms is an online community where people with Multiple Sclerosis can come together to support each other and share practical advice.

A diagnosis of MS often leaves people scared, anxious and isolated. We believe that the best way to combat these feelings is by helping newly diagnosed MSers talk to the people who know best – other MSers. Our community was founded in 2009 and now has over 11,000 members.

We’re currently bidding for funding from the Aviva Community Fund in order to develop an interactive map on our website. The map will help members of our community find other MSers near them so they can meet up, form new friendships and gain invaluable advice and support.

Map.ms will allow MSers to see that they are not alone. An independent evaluation of Shift.ms showed that although members receive a great deal of support online, they would also like to meet face-to-face. We believe that being able to meet up in person will do even more to reduce the mental health problems that so many MSers experience.

Map.ms will allow MSers to quickly find people like them, near where they live, building a deeper sense of community. By plotting the location of Shift.ms members, meet ups and location-specific groups, Map.ms will put the MS community, literally, on the map. Shift.ms takes online safety extremely seriously and has a clear set of guidelines to ensure people do not reveal their home address.

Please vote for Shift.ms in the Aviva Community Fund to help us get the funding we need to build the map. Voting closes on Friday 18th November at midday (GMT), so please take two minutes to follow the link, register, search for “Shift.ms” and cast your ten votes. We think it’s an amazing opportunity for the MS community and we’d really appreciate your help in making it a reality.

Please vote for Shift.ms now.

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Oct 18 2013
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Blogging

In The Company Of Giants

ChrisThe MS Society Awards 2013 at The Dorchester yesterday were, in the words of The Teenager, just awesome.

To be in the same room as so many incredible people with so many inspiring stories and achievements is impossible to convey and to be a finalist in the same category as St Bartholomew’s Hospital and Shift.ms was humbling. I had no expectation of winning and was over the moon to receive a ‘highly commended’ certificate and bottle of bubbly.

There’s far too many highlights to mention, so here’s a flavour of how the day unfolded: we arrived early enough for The Teenager to be photographed posing next to a £1 million Bugati parked outside the hotel which he quickly tweeted to his friends.

A champagne reception was then the perfect way to meet new people and put faces to names before being ushered into the ballroom for lunch. I was thrilled to be sitting next to Joseph Carter, the Director of MS Society Cymru and on the same table as David Baker from St Bartholomew’s Hospital with whom I had a lively and illuminating discussion about Alemtuzumab.

Lunch was superlative, the surroundings beautiful, but most importantly, the awards were emotional, moving and thoroughly well-deserved. The final announcement, for the MS Lifetime Achievement Award went to our very own Stuart Nixon (hardly a dry eye in the room). The Teenager was busy having his photograph taken with as many celebrities as he could find – a big thank you to Stephanie Millward for signing autographs for him and letting him hold an Olympic torch. In all the excitement, I forgot to take any photographs myself (d’oh!), but the day passed in a whirlwind.

It was brilliant to have people come up to me, have a quick glance at my shoes and ask if I was Stumbling In Flats. To be told how much people loved my blog was an award in itself and I’m still floating on a high (possibly also due to the champagne…).

What can I say? I truly was in the company of giants. If the future of MS is in their hands – through research, through fundraising, through volunteering – then we are in very safe hands indeed.

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