Message from The Chair

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This will be the final newsletter to be sent out to members of MS Action who use the centre at Walthamstow. The centre will close completely on 27th November and the removal firm arrives on 28th to take all our worldly goods, or most of them, to our new home in Chadwell Heath. All therapies, except for oxygen therapy (more later) will commence again on 2nd December at the new site. The full address and contact details are below and Diana can give you more detail on days and times that you can resume your therapies and join in other activities.

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Whilst MS Action Limited will remain as the entity which owns and manages the new centre our style and trading name will change to The Marjorie Collins Centre, Therapy and Wellbeing. The Marjorie Collins building was purpose built as a day centre for people with MS. It has a long history and good reputation in the area and beyond and we want to build and promote that rather than spend time, money and energy re-branding and I know that most people will just refer to it as ‘the centre’ or ‘Marjorie Collins’.

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I am very optimistic about the future, the services which will be on offer and the wider community we will reach and build together. But I do recognise for some people this may be the end of an era and they won’t be coming on this journey with us, and I am genuinely sad and upset about that.

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As I have said many times over the last year, none of this has been of our making or desire but faced with either having to close completely or move then we chose to move. But I hope that we have and will continue to demonstrate that overall this is a very positive situation which will reduce our financial commitments whilst allowing us to grow in the services we offer and the reach we will have geographically and amongst different client groups.

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So I hope and believe that MS Action by any other name will continue to smell as sweet as ever, will be a welcoming and safe space for everyone and a place of Friendship Hope and Community.

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Richard Emmerson

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Chair of MS Action

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Update on Therapies

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We are delighted that most of our therapists will be transferring to Marjorie Collins with us, but obviously sad that Audrey, our acupuncturist, will not be coming. Audrey’s treatments have been very popular and we know that she will be missed.

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Unfortunately, we have been unable to get the new oxygen chamber in place and up and running for 2nd December.

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As part of our move and the deal we have with our current landlord, we are buying a larger, refurbished chamber and we are also installing plant which will produce oxygen on demand so we will no longer have it arriving in a tanker. We will be self-sufficient, and we will be able to accommodate more people and provide better provision for those in wheelchairs. However, because of the logistics of getting all this equipment ordered, delivered, installed and commissioned it won’t be ready to operate in December.

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We are in the process of having new units built to house the chamber and compressor but we have been advised by the suppliers that the equipment will not arrive until the second or third week in December. The new chamber will also have a new Operators’ Board which means that our existing operators will need to be re-trained. The current estimate for the new oxygen chamber to be up and running is mid-January 2025. We will update everyone as soon as we have a firm date.

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This will be very disappointing for many of you who are regular oxygen users and we are making every effort to bring this forward.

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Not all of our volunteer operators are moving with us, so we’d welcome any new volunteers who would be prepared to be trained and operate the chamber for a few hours a week

Fun at Marjorie Collins

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As well as our therapies, there are lots of social activities that currently take place on a Tuesday and Thursday including bingo and chair exercises. Colours of Redbridge have free accessible and diverse dance classes on a Thursday and DABD will be setting up a ‘Golden Years’ Monday club at Marjorie Collins in November with lots of activities for over 60’s which many of our older members may be interested in.

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More details of both of these groups can be found here.

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https://coloursofredbridge.com/event/dance-for-fitness-and-wellbeing/
https://www.dabd.org.uk/help-and-advice/help-to-get-around/clubs-and-groups-for-60

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If you haven’t been to the Marjorie Collins Centre yet, do pop along on a Tuesday or Thursday where you will be made very welcome and may even get a cup of tea or coffee!

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A New Operations Committee

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We have now set up what we call an Operations Committee which will be responsible for the day to day management of the centre. This is separate from the Directors of MS Action who continue to be responsible overall for the charity. This committee, including Diana, will be working on things like membership, volunteers, therapies, facilities, social events and individual advice and assistance.

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If you have skills, experience and some time to help in these areas of work or if you have specific skills that you think may be of help to us, please speak to Diana in the first instance to be put in touch with one of us. We always need volunteers to help with everything from running the oxygen dives, to helping in the office, organising social events, marketing, social media, gardening or just being at the centre . talk to people, share experiences and have a coffee.
It’s up to you how many hours you can commit to and any help is gratefully received.

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Goodbye and Thank You to Liz Gullis

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Sadly, Liz Gullis who has volunteered for us for over 10 years operating the oxygen chamber will not be coming to Marjorie Collins with us. Liz has been amazingly reliable and helpful to MS Action and we are so grateful to her for all she has done.

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Thank you, Liz, for your help and dedication. We wish you every happiness for the future.

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Christmas Party

The wonderful volunteers at Marjorie Collins are organising a Christmas Party for everyone on Tuesday 17th December from 12.30pm onwards, and everyone is welcome to come along including therapists, volunteers and members. If you do want to come along, please let Diana know or e-mail Caroline at caroline.mccarthy@msaction.org.uk so we can have a rough idea of numbers and to make sure there are enough mince pies to go round

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