This year the approaching year-end coincides with the departure of the Society’s highly respected, revered and very long serving Manager, Jenny Boyer.
Jenny will be retiring when the Society shuts for the Christmas holidays and the board are actively seeking a new Service Manager to nurture the organisation through the next period of development.
Jenny joined the Society staff almost 30 years ago in March 1988 and has been the manager for the past 10 years. During this time she has witnessed lots of change in the sector and been involved in numerous initiatives to grow and improve the availability and accessibility of services for people living with MS or Parkinson’s, efforts for which we are tremendously grateful.
I’m sure I speak on behalf of staff and members when I say that it is with great sadness that we say farewell to this Society stalwart and that you would join me in wishing Jenny endless days of joy and sunshine in her Golden Years.
Jenny, we hope and fully expect that you will remain in close contact with the Society in the coming years and we are looking forward to a retrospective article from you in the February 2015 Newsletter!
Members are invited to drop in during normal office hours to say farewell personally to Jenny in the week starting Monday 15 December.
Bayer Sponsorship
I’d like to acknowledge Bayer New Zealand for their continued financial support of the Society. This relationship has now been in place for over a decade, during which time Bayer New Zealand has provided grants annually to the Society. These very generous grants have greatly increased our capacity to educate and support members.
Home Visits
The Society encourages all members to make use of the Home Visit and other services as required and to know that your requests for information or support are welcomed by Society staff.
New members particularly need to be reminded that they are responsible for booking home visits from Resource Nurses. While the nurses might call you occasionally to check how you’re doing, this generally happens when they haven’t heard from a particular member in a while rather than it being a scheduled call.
You can easily contact a staff member by email by clicking on their name on the Contact Us page.
Become a Regular Donor
The Giving Season is upon us and it is at this time of the year that we ask members to consider making a regular financial donation to the Society.
As you might be aware, it is becoming increasingly difficult to source the level of grant funding required to fill the Society’s budget shortfall (the difference between the actual cost of running the organisation and the income received from annual subscriptions and contracts).
Annual subscriptions provide only 9% of our annual budget, so if you feel you’re able to give more towards the programmes the Society provides then others with MS and Parkinson’s would receive the benefit.
The security of knowing that a donation will be coming in regularly allows us to better plan for the future and make important decisions on programmes and services.
Your regular donation makes a huge difference to the lives of others living with MS or Parkinson’s. This donation may be as little as $1 a week or as much as you feel you are able to give; every little bit truly makes a difference.
Remember, all donations of $5 of more are tax deductible and will be receipted every March. Thank you for your support!
You will find a downloadable Automatic Payment Authority for Regular Giving form at www.ms-pd.org.nz/apform.pdf or you can ask Annette to send you one by calling 03 366-2857 ext. 6.
Happy Holidays
On behalf of the board and the staff, I’d like to wish you an enjoyable and relaxing festive season and all of the very best for the coming year. Please be aware of our upcoming events:
- 16 December – The Society’s Christmas BBQ
- March – Court Theatre Fundraiser
- March – AGM
Yours sincerely, Malcolm Rickerby, President 03 338 1770, president@ms-pd.org.nz