Hot off the press! The June 2016 issue of Vintage Life Magazine features a superb account by Laura Chamberlain of Joanna and her Vintage Violet’s Charity Catwalk, held in April at The New Caterham Arms, raising over £1200 for Invest in ME. Earlier this year, Joanna Chamberlain explained why she was organising this spectacular event for the charity in her story on JustGiving.
I am arranging an event that will be raising funds for Invest in ME, a charity very close to my heart. Both my son and daughter suffer from ME. Both of them first became ill as teenagers, went into remission as young adults and unfortunately became ill again with the disease in their mid twenties.
In the sixteen years since my son first became ill, very little progress has been made with research. We know, from the small number of studies that have been funded that there are many biological abnormalities in the body of an ME patient. And yet, there has been very little funding to find effective treatments or even a cure. When my kids became ill again, we discovered that, despite the many years that had passed, doctors still couldn’t offer any kind of treatment aimed at addressing these abnormalities, only therapies to help them manage and live with their condition.
This is where Invest in ME comes in. For researchers, ME is considered to be one of the last few areas of medicine where you can still make a breakthrough. They want to do this research but many of them struggle to get funding. Invest in ME are currently raising funds for a UK trial of a drug called Rituximab. The original studies in Norway were extremely promising. Two-thirds of ME patients given the drug had a major or moderate improvement. But to get this licensed as a treatment for ME, more research has to be done in order to verify the results and look further into why this is so effective.
So hopefully you can see why this is such an important cause. This research gives hope to the 250,000 people in the UK estimated to suffer from ME and they have been waiting a long time for this research to be done. The charity is run entirely by volunteers so 100% of the money raised will go into research.
I set up this page as I know there are lots of people who cant make the event but would still like to donate to this worthy cause – justgiving.com/fundraising/Vintageviolets
Many thanks to Joanna and her Vintage Violets and everyone involved in supporting this event, and congratulations Vintage Life Magazine on the stunning spread in their June issue with article by Laura Chamberlain.
1940s Clothes by Shona Van Beers of Heyday!
Hats by Jo Chamberlain of Hats by Joanna Violet
Bridal Headpieces by Fran Taylor of Crystal Heirlooms
Vintage car Brian and Emma Irving
MUA Manny Samra, Megan Carter Misty Tea and Millie Williamson
Photography Simon Alston Fox, Kevin Waller, Glynn Roche
Music and lighting Ian Phillips of Harrison Entertainment
Find Joanna And Her Vintage Violet’s Charity Catwalk on Facebook
Follow Joanna Violet on Twitter
You may also like Black Dress Day to see ME Awareness Month out in style on 31st May.