New Year Event

The annual New Year Event will be held at 1.45pm on the 21st January 2012 at the Holiday Inn, Oxford. There will be news from the International Symposium on MND by Professor Talbot and a talk by Stuart Bates from Three Dopes in a Boat. Please RSVP to Lesley Ogden by 19th January. Email: lao.ogden@googlemail.com

Family and Friends

A new venue for the popular annual social evening brought people together from all parts of the county. It was good to see old friends again and meet new ones. The hot topics were the success of the Branch Walk in Blenheim Park and Professor Talbot’s inaugural lecture to celebrate the establishment of a chair of motor neuron biology at Oxford University.

Ann Payne, who came to the evening with members of her family, was one of these who had been introduced to Princess Anne and had been interviewed for Meridian TV news about living with MND. Several people brought donations raised from sponsorship for the Walk to add to the growing total. Christmas cards and diaries were on sale to benefit the branch. Thanks to Stella and John Waterer who organised this.

Branch Walk at Blenheim

On Saturday 15th October the sun shone which made it a perfect day for our Walk to D’Feet.

This year our walk took place at Blenheim Palace which provided a lovely setting even though there were a few hills to negotiate!!! About 100 people joined us for the walk and there was a great mix of ages including a week old baby and a few active toddlers. Many of us wore MNDA t-shirts and carried balloons which meant that we made the most of the opportunity to raise awareness as well as raise much needed money. The shorter walk was brilliantly lead by Mary Marshall whilst those brave enough to tackle the longer walk were lead by Lyn Blackie. A great day was had by all and what most people commented on was the “terrific atmosphere”. Here’s hoping that next year’s is just as successful!

To date has raised £4000!

About the Branch

The Oxfordshire Branch of the Motor Neurone Disease Association is dedicated to providing help and support to people in the area affected by MND including their carers, families and friends.

Our aims are to raise funds and increase public awareness of the disease. We cannot achieve these aims without volunteers, and we need as many as possible, even for the smallest tasks. Please visit our Volunteers page to see how you could become involved.

We have a close relationship with Health and Social Care Professionals in our area such as Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Dieticians, Social Workers, Medical and Care Staff. Some of our volunteers attend the MND Care Centre at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

Among the support services we provide is a team of trained Association Visitors who will visit families when requested. The Branch also holds regular Family and Friends meetings for people living with MND and their carers. These give people an opportunity to meet with others who are living with the disease, and to share experiences and ideas.

Fundraising and raising awareness about MND in the general public are also very important aspects of Branch activities. For meetings and events planned for the next few months please visit our Events page.

We are always investigating ways in which we can help. Our Support page provides information on a number of Support Services available nationally and in the Oxfordshire area. We have also collected together a number of items of interest on our Information page. This provides links to other websites, information about books and other materials that may be helpful, and some advice on things such as travel, technology, and mobility equipment.

For details on how to contact members of the Branch, a map of the area covered by the Branch, and links to adjoining branches, please visit our Contacts page.

The Branch is one of over eighty local groups that are affiliated with the National Motor Neurone Disease Association. For information about the work of the Association (founded in 1979) and up to date news about research into the disease and advances in care, please visit the website at www.mndassociation.org.