Why Rowan has joined Let's do it for ME ...



Rowan says, "Let's do it for ME!"

"Hi my name is Rowan, I have had M.E. for over 2 years.  What started with a few symptoms of pain and horrendous fatigue, has now escalated into something that has rendered me unable to walk for more than 10 paces before weakness and pain sets in, and I have to sit down there and then. The same happens to my arms, which means I have trouble lifting, carrying and cooking, sore throats, eye pain and photophobia, severe head pain/ache, intolerance to noise, temperature fluctuations, and a fatigue that is difficult to describe, are just some of an endless exhuastive symptom list that I and other sufferers have to live with.

I am a wife and mum that now cannot get my daughter to school and has to rely on others to do this for me, a husband who cooks when he comes home from work, that like others desperately want recognition for this debilitating illness. 

We need proper medical care, we need the biomedical research that Let's do it for ME are campaigning for, which is why I have got involved and have started raising money for Invest in ME through selling blue ribbons for awareness, filling my copper pot up (with lots of silver) and when the better weather gets here I will, with my husband, sell at car boots the kind donations that friends and family have given me to help raise the much needed money to make this a reality."

Rowan is pictured wearing a T-shirt from our on-line shop, with a copy of the cheeky M.E Laid Bare 2012 calendar and the campaign leaflet.

Many thanks to Rowan, her family and friends for all they are doing through Let's do it for ME!

Cheeky ME 2012 Calendar

Ever mindful of opportunities for raising awareness and funds for biomedical research and treatment, some banter among friends following a chance remark led to the idea of producing a cheeky calendar for 2012 featuring men with myalgic encephalomyeltis, which was greeted with a resounding cry of, “Let's do it for ME!”

A page was set up on Everyclick to take the bids and pledges that had begun rolling in to encourage the lads to take part, raising £200 in itself within 24 hours of the post on Facebook requesting volunteer models for the calendar.

Several more good sports proceeded to give freely of their ideas, time, expertise and efforts, including researching production options, coordinating the project, designing, and of course, posing for and taking the photos themselves.   

Andrew Quince of Sound North kindly created a website to advertise and order the calendars and Invest in ME volunteered to distribute the finished product.

The result of this great team effort is that, two months since that first cheeky idea, M.E Laid Bare was sent for printing and is now available to order hot off the press!  

Price per calendar including P&P is £6 for delivery in UK, £6.75 in Europe, £7.50 outside Europe. Your payment is direct to Invest in ME's PayPal account and all proceeds, above printing and delivery costs and PayPal transaction charges, go to Invest in ME's biomedical research fund.

Orders were being placed from various countries around the world within minutes of the site going live and customers are describing the calendars as tastefully photographed, professionally made, good fun and great value for money, so are you ready to place your order?

Click here and Let's do it for ME!

Thank you for your support!

Many thanks to all those involved in this project, including Darren Magee for his creative work on the design of the calendar and Andrew Quince of Sound North for creating and hosting the Cheeky ME website.

The calendars were printed by ModRed.

The Let's do it for ME! awareness and fund-raising campaign is run by ME sufferers in close cooperation with the charity Invest in ME. Your donations go directly to Invest in ME towards the UK Centre. See this campaign highlighted on the Invest in ME website here.