Run a local support Group
Would you like to become a local co-ordinator for your area? A local support group can help sufferers on a more personal level.
It has been our experience that when a local group is set up, and the initial meeting has taken place, the group takes on its own momentum. Once this happens it becomes easier to make arrangements for future meetings, and to get speakers to present to the group on their chosen subject. Other groups have had such diverse presentations as Aromatherapy, Acupuncture, Relaxation Techniques and Diet
Most smaller groups meet in the home of a member of the group, usually taking it in turns to host the meeting. Larger groups tend to meet in the local hospital, with the hospital being able to provide a venue for the meeting. This can be arranged with the assistance of a member of the urology staff, and normally no charge is made for this. To help co-ordinate the first meeting, The COB Foundation can prepare letters to all members in your area advising of the meeting time and date and inviting them to attend. If help is required in finding a venue for the first meeting then The COB Foundation will use its contacts to help arrange a venue.
A member of staff from The COB Foundation will also be happy to attend the first meeting, to help establish the group and its meeting schedule and objectives.
In order to obtain publicity for the local group, we hope that some of the following suggestions will help you along the way:
The first thing you need to do is to let others know that your group exists. If you need leaflets and posters please let me know so that you can distribute them around GP's surgeries, health centres, chemists, hospitals and libraries. If any public place is kind enough to put up posters then take them up on their offer. This can be a rolling programme taken on by the members as they visit various places over a period of time.
Try to see if your local paper (preferably a free one which people do not have to buy, as more people are likely to read this) will put an article in about the group. You will probably need to put your telephone number on for a local contact. There is usually a section listing local support groups (e.g.. Parkinson's Disease, arthritis groups), so see if they would be willing to add you to the list.
Approach the Council for Voluntary Service if there is one in your area. They were a great help to us when the charity first started in Northampton. They allowed us to use a room for up to 6 meetings free of charge, so we could provide an alternative venue for meetings.
Tell your specialist what you are doing and ask if he could put any other sufferers he may have in touch with you. So far, many specialists have been only too happy to do this. If there are any continence advisors or stoma nurses in your hospital, then also tell them. They may be willing to help run the local group meetings, as is the case in Sheffield. Also, many student nurses are selecting cystitis and overactive bladder as a topic for project study, and perhaps they can also help you.
Apply to the Borough and/or County Council to see if they can help financially with any grant you may be able to get. Northampton Borough Council initially gave £250 to the charity to get started and the County Council donated £50. You may also be entitled to apply for a grant from the Health Authority, as they are often willing to help voluntary organisations.
Hopefully, this will give you some help to get going, and if you would also like to speak to other local co-ordinators about their experiences of running local groups then please contact The COB Foundation offices, who will be happy to put you in touch with them.
Local groups are encouraged to start some fund-raising in due course so that postage costs etc. can be found out of this money.
For further information on creating a local support group please contact us.