I havenāt just been involved with large charitable organisations, I have also helped set up several smaller groups who are no less important to the people they help.
Cluster headache is a rare a little understood neurological condition. GPās and even most neurologists had little experience of it and there was no effective treatment. My wife is a sufferer. In 2001 along with a few other sufferers we set up and funded a charity -OUCH- the organisation for understanding cluster headaches. We started a newsletter; set up a help line; mailed information to 30,000 UK GPās and organised a national conference. Since then treatment has improved and cluster headache is far better understood. OUCH played a key part in that and continues to be run today by volunteers š»
Another voluntary group I helped get started was Cheylesmore Good Neighbours in Coventry. I only offered encouragement and a small amount of support, a group of volunteers in the local community did and continue to do all their great work. š» There are several posts on the things they do, which you can read about by clicking in the Tag Cloud.
The Good Neighbours theme was taken up by the āHopeā project in Coventry. A small grant I gave to them to employ a fundraiser has significantly improved their core funding to continue their work in the community. š»
Small groups like the ones above are often hard to get started and even harder to keep going. They often compete for funding and attention with much larger and better resourced charities.
Perhaps this business card can help?
