1 February 2015

Great Start to 2015!

Wow, thanks to everyone supporting, what a busy start to the new year, hard to believe that January's over so soon! This is a landmark year, as 2015 marks the 10th year of Invest in ME charity and the 10th of their renowned international biomedical research conferences (IIMEC10). You can read more in the first Invest in ME newsletter of 2015, published in pdf on 27th January - http://bit.ly/1wAnt7L  You can sign up to receive their free e-newsletters by email
Jam-packed as usual with news of their amazing work on campaigning, advocacy, education, and with updates on the research and fundraising on pages 8 and 9 of the pdf. You'll see links to some of the new fundraising events organised so far for 2015 including: Walk for ME, Twighlight Colourthon, Brighton Half-Marathon, Sheffield Half-Marathon, Brighton Half-Marathon, Thames Path Challenge, Tough Mudder South-West, 2015 miles of running in 2015, A Birthday Challenge. 

Also new for 2015 is the New Year, New ME fundraiser, an all-year round extension to the very successful Stoptober for M.E. Awareness and fundraiser organised by Ali Head, whereby supporters gave up something they enjoy and donated what they saved to Invest in ME. Aimed at the family and friends of people suffering with ME in hope that they will support the search for treatment and an end to the neglect of this devastating disease. Event info here -
https://www.facebook.com/events/852973618102072

Watch this space for the launch of The Big Sleep for ME 2015. Meanwhile, Team Princess is polishing up their tiaras in readiness to play their role. You can find them on Facebook here - https://www.facebook.com/meprincesses 

Two more major awareness and fundraising events are Mike Harley's EU Marathons and Mike Shepherd's North Pole Challenge. You may remember Mike Harley from last year as Team Leader of 92 for ME, the amazing tour of 92 football league grounds in 92 hours. He's now embarking on a mammoth challenge to run a marathon in 28 EU countries! Mike's EU Marathons Facebook page is here - https://www.facebook.com/mikeseumarathons

Mike Shepherd's North Pole Challenge is set for April 2015 and is all the more remarkable as he will be the first person with a heart pacemaker fitted to run a full marathon at The North Pole. Mike's wife Lara has fibromyalgia, and he is doing this amazing challenge for the sake of his teenage daughter Elizabeth, as she has had ME for several years of her young life. Mike's North Pole Challenge Facebook page is here - https://www.facebook.com/Northpolechallenge

Sue Page's Small Change to Change M.E. Fundraiser will run again throughout 2015. The £2014 target was reached by 31st December 2014, so Sue has raised the target for this year to £3000. Loose change – it all adds up! The event page is here - https://www.facebook.com/events/1536858226585701/

You're welcome to let us know if you're planning any events for Invest in ME, or if you'd like to help out in any way with our awareness and fundraising in support of the charity.  We are mostly severely ill and the charity itself is also run by volunteer patients or parents/carers, with no paid staff.

Current Invest in ME Research Fund Totals are:

Gut Microbiota Research - £130k raised of £200k target.
Rituximab Research - £368k of £450k target. 

So, just £2k shy of a whopping £500,000 raised for Invest in ME Biomedical ME Research Funds since our campaign launched in July 2011 support of the charity's proposal (published May 2010) for a centre of excellence for translational biomedical ME research and patient care! 

Oh, is 1st of the month? The day to donate just £1 to IIME's 1st class biomedical ME research!


Thank-you for your support.
 
Let's Do It for ME
in support of Invest in ME (Research)
Invest in ME International Biomedical Research Conference (IIMEC)
IIME/UCL/UK rituximab trial 
 
  Let's Do It for ME is a patient-driven campaign helping to raise awareness of the work of independent UK charity Invest in ME (Research) on developing a UK centre of excellence for M.E. and funds for the biomedical research into myalgic encephalomyelitis that the charity is organising and/or funding. Invest in ME is run entirely by unpaid volunteers who either have ME or are parents and carers of ME patients. They are driving the agenda of scientific biomedical research into diagnostic tests and treatments for myalgic encephomyelitis in UK in collaboration with international researchers of world renown. 2015 marks the 10th year of amazing progress made by this small charity with a BIG cause. Will you help them make it the best yet? Let's do it for Invest in ME!