Welcome to the Cheshire Branch website

Ladies Pamper Night The full story of a very successfull to follow soon. Watch this space! Tip always look at    Dates for your diary The latest Newsletter is now available For the latest news stories and fund raising Events goto the Latest News  Fund Raising  pages on the web   Spotlight on Carers

Branch Aims and Objectives The Cheshire Branch covers the county of Cheshire although there is occasionally an overlap with other Branches at our boundaries. To view details of other MND Association Branches in other areas, please visit the National Office website at http://www.mndassociation.org/. or contact National Office at enquiries@mndassociation.orgor telephone 01604 250505. MND is an incurable condition that paralyses the muscles leaving people unable to do the everyday things the rest of us take for granted. Walking, talking and swallowing may become virtually impossible, yet the mind and senses remain virtually intact. The Cheshire Branch of the Motor Neurone Disease Association serves all those in the area who are affected by Motor Neurone Disease (MND). This includes people with MND, their carers, family and friends Specific Branch Objectives Provide support for people affected by MND Raise money to help people affected by MND. Raise awareness about MND within Cheshire. Influence policy and decision-makers within Cheshire, to the benefit of people affected by MND. We liaise with health and social care professionals such as Speech Therapists, Occupational Therapists and the Medical Profession. Our Branch is aiming to hold regular support meetings for people living with MND and their carers. These will provide an opportunity to meet with other people living with the disease, and to share experiences and ideas. Fundraising and raising awareness are also very important aspects of Branch activities, and we organise several events throughout the year which are well supported. Cheshire Branch is completely run by volunteers. We are always interested in hearing from people who can help with events or who want to get involved with running the Branch. For information about the work of the Association, and up to date information regarding the disease, care and research, please visit the National Office website at http://www.mndassociation.org  Some Interesting Statistics The following national statistics, I hope will demonstrate how much this terrible disease, for which there is no known cause and consequently no cure, is underfunded.  Motor neurone disease is a neurological condition. Every week in the UK, 35 people are diagnosed with MND and a further 35 people will die of the disease.  The average sufferer will live for two years after diagnosis. Only 10 per cent of sufferers live for more than five years.  The muscles waste away and patients eventually die from weakness and paralysis of their breathing muscles.  In Britain between 1999 and 2004, 6,000 people died from MND, 4,200 from HIV/Aids and 92 from vCJD.  During this time £33m was spent looking into vCJD, £45m on HIV/Aids and £8m on MND Donations Donations represent approximately 78% of our total income, the other 22% is through fund raising events organised by the Branch. As far as donations are concerned, in addition to ‘in Memoriam’ there are 2 types which are ‘general’ and ‘restricted’. As the name suggests, ‘general’ donations can be used for anything that supports the Association, from postage stamps to research. With ‘restricted’ the donor can state how the money can be spent. We find that this tends to fall in 2 categories, either to be used to support people living with MND in Cheshire or to be sent to National Office and allocated to Research. At the end of the financial year if there are monies available we send a proportion to National Office. Use of the monies A small amount of the money received, approximately 12%, is used by the Branch to provide refreshments at Support Meetings, including the Christmas party, and to fund the quarterly newsletter and the Branch website. National Office received 58%, which includes monies allocated to research, of our income. As a Branch we make contributions to the needs of people living with MND. These contributions are towards the costs of installing equipment such as stair lifts, beds, wet rooms, electric wheelchairs and specially adapted cars. Approximately 30% of our income is spent on patient care. (the above figures are based on audited accounts for the year ending 31st January 2008)

Visitor Counter