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Giving Tuesday News

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We couldn’t let this day go by without taking the opportunity to thank everyone generously giving of your precious time, extraordinary efforts, sheer genius and money, to support the work of the volunteer-run UK charity Invest in ME Research and, especially as far as the Let’s Do It for ME campaign is concerned, joining us in enabling the charity’s Centre of Excellence projects to get underway and ongoing.

You are all much appreciated, whether you are a well friend and run a mountain marathon, or are bedbound and feel like you run a mountain marathon every day, supporting by sharing posts and links online.

We highlight a few of these current endeavours today.

Rebeccah Prince’s innovative Five Portions Of Etsy shop closes on 12th December. Five Portions Of is also on Facebook and Twitter.

Rebecca also created a Facebook fundraiser today.

“I am holding a Pop-up Christmas Fair at my house for friends, family and local residents with my stall selling unique themed gift boxes which I put together under the name of Five Portions Of, lovely artisan stalls and a Christmas cafe to raise money for Invest In ME Research. This is my second fair and last year I raised a coupe of hundred pounds for Invest In ME Research. If you are unable to make it to the fair and would like to donate please use this fundraiser. I myself have been a participant in the Gut Bacteria studies by Invest In ME Research so it is a charity that is very important to me.” Read more…

https://www.facebook.com/jane.hurst.338/posts/10158005643489187

Please send Jane Hurst a private message on Facebook if you’d like to buy a pack or two of her gorgeous nature photo cards.

Thanks again to Jane’s family who braved the cold for another sale of her cards, kindly hosted by O’Flynn’s Budgens in Poringland and with proceeds to Invest in ME Research.

Thanks also to Emma for her stunning 2020 Calendar (sold out) and Chris, whose Unique Gifts from Squirrel Woods raised £574.00!

Choose from a range of lovely jewellery handcrafted by Lynne available on Etsy at ME2UDezignz.

Christmas to a T? The amazing Mama Chill’s limited edition design for men and women available to buy online from her shop on Dizzyjam.

Invest in ME Research shone the spotlight on the brilliant efforts of Jen Govey on Day 3 of their Advent Calendar. Jen joined Team Let’s Do It for ME last year with her absolutey fabulous awareness and fundraising idea #DressForME. She’d love you to join in the fun if you’re well enough to do fancy dress or cosplay or simply like and share.

Day 3 of easyfundraising’s £5k win-win Advent Calendar contest, and still time to nominate IiMER to win £1k in Ecclesiastical’s 12 Days of Christmas.

Finally, one thousand thank yous to the donor of £1,000 to Invest in ME Research lighting up their Christmas Funding Tree!

Happy Giving Tuesday everyone and thank you for your support!

PRESS RELEASE: £500k Pledged by IiMER!

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Invest in ME Research has announced a pledge by the charity of £500,000 to the biomedical ME research underway at Norwich Research Park.

As far as we know, this is the largest single pledge for biomedical research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis ever made by a charity in UK!

IiMER Press Release
Quadram Institute News

The pledge covers joint funding of a PhD position in partnership with University of East Anglia and over 70% of the required funding for a clinical trial of Faecal Microbiota Transplantation being performed alongside other high-quality biomedical research at Quadram Institute.

Invest in ME Research pledged £435,000 towards the FMT trial earlier this year, so this new pledge represents an increase, thanks to the efforts of the charity and their supporters, including patients, carers, parents, friends and families affected by this disease. On their page describing the recent Centre of Excellence projects, IiMER write,

“The efforts of our supporters are exemplified in the Let’s Do It For ME campaign – started by three severely affected patients from their homes. They have enlisted friends and families to join with Invest in ME Research to create a grassroots movement to fund biomedical research into the disease, and thereby compensating for the meagre offical funding that has been given to research into ME over the years.

Invest in ME Research will now have funded or part funded five PhDs performing research into ME and working in partnership with researchers to initiate a foundation of high-quality research in one of the largest and most prestigious research parks in Europe.” Read more: investinme.org/pr01-Dec19.shtml

The press release is announced on Day 2 of the charity’s Advent Calendar.

Together we have helped raise and pledge over £900,000 for Invest in ME Research since the Let’s Do It for ME campaign launched in support of the charity’s plan to establish a UK/European Centre of Excellence for ME.

This includes a hugely generous pledge to the charity from The Hendrie Foundation towards a clinical treatment trial and their substantial donation to the B-cell ME research performed at UCL. We are enormously grateful to the foundation and to everyone supporting the development of the Centre of Excellence for ME and the ongoing research there.

Thank you all so much for supporting Invest in ME Research!

Let’s keep doing it for ME!

Donate to
Invest in ME Research

Donate/Share Let’s Do It for ME’s
fundraising for the FMT trial

Christmas Contests, Fundraising, Shopping

Christmas Tidings

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News and Ways to Support Invest in ME Research

Invest in ME Research launched their Christmas / New Year Funding Appeal on Day 1 of the charity’s 2019 Advent Calendar.

This year’s appeal aims to raise funds towards the UK clinical trial of FMT for ME (faecal microbiota transplantation as a potential treatment for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) planned to begin in 2020 at Norwich Research Park, hub of the UK/European Centre of Excellence for ME.

The charity has kindly linked to our page for donations.

As Wonderful is a fee-free fundraising platform, and as Invest in ME Research is run entirely by volunteers, every penny of your donation helps to fund the clinical trial. You can add Gift Aid if you are a UK tax payer, adding 25% value to your donation at no extra cost to you.

Look for the IiMER advent calendar during the run up to Christmas day – a different story every day. Look especially for the second day of December!

Other Ways to Support Invest in ME Research

✨Send Christmas or New Year eCards via DontSendMeACard.com and donate the cost of greeting cards to Invest in ME Research.

✨Nominate Invest in ME Research (charity number 1153730) to win £1,000 in Ecclesiastical’s 12 Days of Giving competition.

✨Enter easyfundraising’s Advent Calendar contest for free to be in with a chance to win daily prizes and £5,000 to spend at John Lewis & Partners on Christmas Day. You can also win donations – including a £5,000 donation on Christmas Day – for Invest in ME Research!
You don’t have to shop. To enter, just visit the easyfundraising Advent Calendar and click the day’s window. Go back every day for a chance to win each day’s prize. It’s as simple as that!

✨See all ways to raise funds for free for Invest in ME Research when shopping online, recycling etc.

✨There has been a good deal of interest in WE – a Community and ME – a new booklet recently produced by Invest in ME Research thanks to an Awards for All grant. A number of copies are now distributed to five other countries. If you would like a copy for yourself or as a gift to help others to understand issues with ME, email the charity at info@investinme.org

✨As Invest in ME Research say in their December newsletter, if there are 250,000 people with ME in UK then that is a powerful lobby. The general election is another chance for patients and families to ask prospective candidates what actions they propose to address the serious issues affecting people with ME. Scroll the charity’s page for info investinme.org/index.shtml
The Let’s Do It for ME page on the recent parliamentary debates on ME research and treatment is here.

“We would like to thank all of our supporters who made incredible efforts in fundraising over the past months.”
Read more from Invest in ME Research December 2019 Newsletter
Subscribe to future newsletters
See past newsletters

✨Season’s Greetings from Team Let’s Do It for ME✨
Thank you for supporting Invest in ME Research!

Special Issue Newsletter from Invest in ME Research

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Thanking You on 8 Years of the Let’s Do It for ME Campaign

Reposted from 08/08/2019 Invest in ME Research newsletter.
Click here for their latest and past issues or to join the mailing list
to receive the charity’s free e-newsletters by email.

Invest in ME Research has been highlighting the development of a Centre of Excellence for ME and its opportunities for some years. We are pleased that the work the charity has put in to form the foundations of research has progressed slowly but surely thanks to our supporters who believed in our strategy and supported our plans. More and more are gradually becoming aware of the foundations that have been laid to make sustainable progress in research and treatment of ME.

Quote by Thomas Carlyle

There are many areas of life where unsung heroes make sacrifices in order to make progress – never desiring recognition or fame or glory for themselves – but just trying to make a difference.

Let’s Do It for ME (LDIFME) is an awareness and fundraising campaign launched in July 2011 by severely ill housebound or bedbound patients. The team met on Facebook and wanted to do something positive and practical to support the proposal by Invest in ME Research to establish a Centre of Excellence for ME based at Norwich Research Park and working in collaboration with other researchers in UK and internationally.

LDIFME have recently celebrated their eighth year and we wished to acknowledge their efforts and achievements – these selfless, unsung heroes who are and have been a credit to people with ME and their families and carers.

The LDIFME team has composed a summary of some of the work performed and the achievements realised over the last eight years.

We wish to thank the LDIFME team and all the supporters of every campaign, every fundraiser, every letter of support, every contribution made to this great grassroots movement- which has made so many innovations over the years to make progress in research, treatment and perception of ME.

Because of their efforts we now have a real possibility to make progress and it is right before us, having already established the following -.

Thank you LDIFME and our supporters for your wonderful efforts.

  • A UK/European hub for biomedical research into ME
  • A clinical trial which will raise the profile of ME and achieve scientific objectives
  • A GP fellowship to educate GPs and create champions in clinical care for people with ME,
  • PhD students introduced to research 
  • Medical students involved in research
  • High-quality biomedical research from top researchers in the leading European research park, complete with university and university hospital,
  • European collaboration
  • A European ME Clinicians group established and working
  • A European ME Researchers group forming
  • International research Colloquiums bringing researchers together.
  • International ME Conferences that allow researchers, clinicians, patient groups and carers to interact and network.

All this achieved by IiMER, LDIFME and our supporters ……. it is already there, just needing funding to maintain.

Read more on the LDIFME site at this link-
https://ldifme.org/2019/07/31/8-years-doing-it-for-me/

We welcome support to continue our work to develop further the hub for biomedical research into ME-

https://www.wonderful.org/charity/investinmeresearch

#CofEforME #LetsCresearch

Thank you all at IiMER from Team LDIFME!

Subscribe to Invest in ME Research free e-newsletters

Invest in ME Research – Let’s Do It!

ME Conference Week 2020

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Dates Announced for 2020 Invest in ME Research
London Conference Week Events

Invest in ME Research London Conference Week May 2020

For the 15th consecutive year, May ME Awareness Month will draw to a close with Invest in ME Research international ME Conference Week.

Hashtags #meconferenceweek2020 #IIMEC15 #BRMEC10 #TtF2020

To support medical education and wider awareness, please inform your doctor and anyone you think needs to know about current biomedical research and healthcare. At least then they will be informed even if they can’t attend and they can also watch the CPD-accredited conference presentations online.

Medical Doctor commenting on Invest in ME Research Conference

Conference Day (30 May 2020) is open to anyone interested; patients able to attend, carers, healthcare and other public service professionals, political representatives, journalists etc.

This is by pre-paid ticket only (not on the door on the day) and the price is heavily subsidised by the charity. The conference attracts delegates from four continents and from over 20 countries.

There are sponsorship opportunities.

Lunch at 14th Invest in ME Research Conference May 2019

Rest assured, IiMER Bear ensures events go to plan!

https://twitter.com/iimerbear/status/1134355062703230976

Thinking the Future (27 May 2020) and the Biomedical Research into ME Colloquium (28-29 May 2020) are closed meetings for the researchers, but it may help any professionals involved in your or your child’s care, your MP as well as family and carers, to be aware that ME science is progressing and consequently informing medical education with productive international collaboration. These events have now established a core working group of researchers and facilitated many new collaborations – which was the intention of the meetings.

Professor Ron Davis 14th Invest in ME Research Conference May 2019

The networking that continues at the Invest in ME Research conferences allows other developments to occur long after the conference itself has finished – not just in the UK but also in other countries.

A recent example is the second Thinking The Future conference for early career researchers held April 2019 by NIH in Washington and organised by Dr. Vicky Whittemore and Dr. Andrew Breeden in collaboration with Invest in ME Research, following from the first Thinking the Future in London May 2018.

There is also a pre-conference evening dinner with presentation.

2019 is the first year that Invest in ME Research posted the conference presentations (and pre-conference dinner speech) online instead of DVD. You can find them all here along with the Conference Report.

May 2019 IIMEC14 Presentions Online

DONATE HERE TO SUPPORT THESE IMPORTANT EVENTS

Thank you for supporting Invest in ME Research!