Ashford Invicta Singers Christmas Concert

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Saturday 7th December at 7.30 p.m.
St Mary’s Church, Willesborough, Ashford
In support of Motor Neurone Disease Research

Well, it’s that time of year again and besides turkey, trees and tinsel, what does Christmas mean to you?
Besides all of the preparation that goes into making Christmas what is one common theme that brings us all together – it’s the music.
Whether you are watching television or walking through a shopping centre Christmas music is all around, it’s the one thing that makes the holiday what it is.
And there’s no better way of enjoying that music than a Christmas Concert.
The Invicta Singers have been performing since 1991 and over that period our Christmas Concert has played a special part in our yearly concerts. 
Our concerts are always performed in support of local and national charities so when you attend, not only can you enjoy the music, but you are supporting your community. The proceeds of this concert will go Motor Neurone Disease Research
So come along and share with us the music of Christmas.
Tickets £10 available from 07513 591122 or on the door

New Group Chair

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The new Chair of the East Kent group is David Ward. David lives in Tenterden with his wife Emma MacLennan. They lost their much loved son Alex to MND in July 2020.

Alex was just 31 and serving as an Ashford Borough Councillor. After experiencing eight
months of increasing difficulties with walking Alex was finally diagnosed with MND in February 2020.

Just two weeks before he died Alex married his long term partner Elizabeth in a ceremony at David and Emma’s home in Tenterden. David and Emma fervently hope for a cure for this
terrible disease and are committed to supporting the work of the MND. Association both nationally and locally.

The Alex Ward Memorial Lecture on Public Service will be held from 15.00-16.30 on Saturday 23rd July at St Mildred’s Church, Tenterden TN30 6AT.

The guest speaker will be Lord Dubs of Battersea, the leading campaigner for refugees, especially children. Entrance is free but donations will be encouraged to the
East Kent MNDA. For more information email: davidjward@btinternet.com

Coastal Walk to D’Feet MND 18th June 2022

Awareness, Fun Event, Fund Raising, Volunteering

After 2 unfortunate years during which we have been unable to hold our Coastal Walk to D’Feet MND, thankfully we are now able to plan for a walk late this year. The walk will take place on 18th June.

There will be three walk options.

  1. A long walk (approx. 24 miles) Whitstable to Broadstairs.
  2. A medium length walk (approx. 11 miles) Minnis Bay to Broadstairs.
  3. A short walk (approx. 6 miles) Margate to Broadstairs.

There is an entrance fee of  £10 which includes a tee shirt (collected on the day), training program, detailed plan of walk, and full insurance.  Only registered walkers can walk and they must wear the tee shirt for insurance purposes.

Each walker is requested  to find sponsorship to support people living with MND in East Kent.  There is no obligation to raise sponsorship but all support is greatly appreciated.

To register for the walk, please visit www.mnda-eastkent.org.uk/walk2022 , complete the form, then follow the link to Just Giving to pay your entry fee of £10.

If you intend to set up your own JustGiving page, we are happy for you to do so. Please select MNDA as your charity and then please mention MNDA East Kent in your story to ensure that funds you raise are used for people living with MND in East Kent.  Once you have set up your JustGiving Page, please link it to our team at www.justgiving.com/team/coastalwalk2022  so we can keep track of the total funds we raise.

If you want to make a donation in support but not register please visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/mnda-east-kent22

Should you experience any difficulties please email webmaster@mnda-eastkent.org.uk

The route is shown on the map above.

Training programs for the walks, the Walk Plan, sponsorship forms, posters and flyers can be downloaded below:

24 mile walk training programme download PDF

11 mile walk training programme download PDF

Walking Route and Plan download PDF

Sponsorship Form download

Poster download

If you are able to display a poster, we would be grateful if you could print a copy and display it.

We thank our sponsors, with whose help we are able to raise substantial sums to help people living with MND in East Kent

Super Christmas Lunch

Carer's Corner, Fun Event, General Support, Thanks

The East Kent MNDA Group were excited way back in August to start discussions with The Yarrow Hotel in Broadstairs for our Christmas Lunch.  This was the first time since the earliest Lockdown that we’d been able to plan such an event.  With everything in place:  Saturday 11 December as the date, menus chosen and 40+ people scheduled to come, we were hit by the latest fears from Omicron the day prior to the event.  It was early days so we decided to go ahead with the planned event but make a number of safety requirements, e.g. people needed to have had a booster jab, taken a Lateral Flow Test on the morning of the day and observe social distancing wherever possible.  The hotel was visited earlier on the Saturday and table positioning and ventilation checked.  Also, any idea of holding a raffle was, sadly, abandoned as it would have created too much movement around the room.  By lunchtime only one pwMND and his carer cancelled which was a huge relief.

Judy Keay receiving her awards from Chairman David

Our new Chairman David Ward, gave a speech at the end of the lunch and long service presentations were made to Chrissie Batts and Judy Keay. Both were for 10 years of service to the MNDA East Kent community and both richly deserved.

Chrissie Receiving her 10 year award from Chairman David

The event was a huge success with people happy to see each other after a long time + the hotel did us proud, as always, with excellent food, service and attentiveness by staff.  In fact, many people didn’t leave until 3-4!!

Our dearest hope is that next year Covid will be less of a worry. 

Judy and David wishing everyone a Merry Christmas

United to end MND success

Awareness, Campaigns, General Support
United to end MND Group outside Downing Street

The United To End MND campaign – led by the MND Association, MND Scotland, My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, people with MND and neurologists – has successfully secured a Government investment of £50 million over five years into targeted MND research.

The Government made the announcement in the middle of November with Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying:

“We are going to throw the full weight of government, industry and civil society behind a new British-led scientific mission to transform the fight against this devastating disease.”

The investment pledge came after two years of campaigning by the coalition and following a four month media campaign in the Sunday Express under the banner ‘Fund the fight to cure MND’.

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Sajid Javid, who met the campaigners at Westminster in September, described the campaign as ‘hugely important’.

Work started immediately on seeking meetings with Ministers to confirm when and how the funds will be made available and the most effective way to target the investment.

For more information visit United to End MND | MND Association and

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-to-invest-375-million-in-neurodegenerative-disease-research.

From Cambridgeshire to Kent with love…

Fund Raising, Thanks

My name is Sally Arnott and I live in Melbourn near Cambridge with my husband Richard and our four boys. So why have we been raising funds for East Kent MNDA? My sister Helen and her husband Simon Flack live near Sandwich in Kent. At the end of July 2019 they celebrated their Silver Wedding Anniversary with a super barn dance near Saffron Walden for all their friends and family. It was such a wonderful party yet we had no idea that their lives were soon to be be upended. During August Simon accepted that his speech and general health were deteriorating and agreed to seek medical advice. He was eventually tested in January 2020 and diagnosed with Progressive Bulbar Palsy MND. The MND Association has provided Simon and Helen with such exceptional support and guidance that I decided to hold an Autumn Half Term Family Fundraiser by way of thanks and to ensure that their great work can continue, especially as fundraising events have been severely limited by Covid.

Because of the challenge of the global pandemic, it was important to do something people could do in their household bubbles. I created a family bike ride route with a hunt for clues and a woodland animal hunt with autumn leaf craft suggestions, both routes for £5 per family. I held a raffle with the generous support of local businesses kindly donating items including a cream tea for two, a mini facial, fancy tea and coffee, chocolates and prosecco and a large fruit basket. The Autumn Half Term Family Fundraiser finished on Sunday 1st Nov to coincide with our village walking market where my sister Jane, her partner Allen and I held a cake stall and sold more raffle tickets. I’m delighted to say that in total we made over £1600.  It was so much more than I was originally hoping for and seeing the donations on the branch’s Justgiving page gave us some positivity at a difficult time! Since that event, Jane raised a further £200 from a cake stall at her workplace, Sawston Medical Centre near Cambridge, with other donations online from her colleagues. People have been amazingly generous!

From Kent to Cambridgeshire with a massive thank you ………….

Our East Kent Group and people living with MND in East Kent can’t thank Sally, Jane and their families enough for the fundraising events they have organised to raise over £1,800. This huge sum will go a long way to providing additional support for people living here with MND, especially in these Covid difficult times. Seeing great photos of the children taking part has lead us to believe we will definitely steal the idea of the Family Woodland Bike Ride – in the spring/summer of next year!!!!!