The countdown has started and we are now only ten days away from the UK’s first ever Rheumatoid Arthritis Awareness Week, a week dedicated solely to raising the profile of a disease that affects 690,000 people across the UK. We have all been exceptionally busy in the NRAS office preparing for it – arranging events, designing infographics, filming videos and writing articles – but we can only do so much. We really are relying on you guys to add to the collective voice and help promote it.
During the week there are events and activities going on all across the country with many NRAS groups and individual members hosting tea parties or holding information stands at their local GP surgery or hospital. If you haven’t planned anything yet then there is still time to arrange something, just let us know what publications and posters you would like and we’ll get them to you straight away. We’re holding our own events too. On Monday 24th we’re hosting a bowling night in Slough to raise awareness among local businesses. On Tuesday 25th we’re hosting an ‘ask an expert’ event in Maidenhead to raise awareness among local people with RA and healthcare professionals. On Saturday 29th we’re hosting an NRAS Tea Party in Maidenhead town centre to help raise funds for NRAS and also to raise awareness of RA in a less formal setting.
If you cannot attend any events, don’t worry, you can still get involved as we plan use the power of social media to help spread our message of the week that RA can strike at any age. If you’re on facebook, twitter or any other social media platform then please do share the content we have been producing and tell all your friends and followers. We have also set up a Thunderclap that will enable all of us on facebook and twitter to send the same message at the same time so that our collective voices can be heard. Don’t know what a Thunderclap is? Found out more here: thunderclap.it/projects/243....
On each day of the week we will be focussing on a different area of the charity and demonstrating what you can do to get involved.
On Monday our attention will be on the government affairs team as we launch a new report highlighting the lack of public awareness. You will also be able to sign an e-petition and bring the issue to the attention of our politicians, the people who may be able to make a difference to the lives of those affected by RA. On Tuesday, our attention will be on our helpline who respond to several thousand calls each year from people looking for information and support, our aim of the day will be to recruit new telephone support volunteers. On Wednesday it is the turn of the volunteer network to take centre stage and many of our groups all over the country will be holding an information strand in their local hospital. On Thursday we focus on membership and what being a part of the NRAS community means to people with RA and what help they receive from the charity. Finally on Friday, and spilling over into the weekend, the fundraising team will be showing what you what you can do to raise funds for NRAS, at the same time as raising awareness of the disease.
There is lots going on throughout the week and we will be sure to keep you updated on Health Unlocked and on our website: nras.org.uk/campaign/ra_awa.... So on that note, and to steal a quote from one of my favourite films, “changes can be made by the power of many, but only when the many come together to form that which is invincible – the power of one!” Together we can help raise awareness of rheumatoid arthritis!
Mental Health & RA Report Launch in Parliament - Help NRAS raise awareness by emailing your MP!
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