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Volunteer Network News
Your latest news and updates from the Volunteering & Public Engagement Team
If you've got a volunteering story to share, please get in touch.
Welcome to November's Volunteer Network News
Hello,
We hope you’re keeping warm and starting to feel suitably festive.
This packed edition contains news from Rachel Morrell, who has recently joined us as Volunteering and Public Engagement Manager; photographs from our amazing volunteers around the country; and an update on the VPE team's working hours over Christmas.
If you have a story, you’d like to share in VNN, please get in touch at volunteerengagement@theros.org.uk. It’s always great to share your updates and see what everyone has been up to.
Although it’s a little early, this is the last VNN of 2024, so we’d like to wish you and yours a wonderful festive season, and all best wishes for 2025.
Helen, Fiona, Lorna, Maddy, and Rachel
Your VPE team
News from your VPE Team
Welcome to Rachel!
Rachel Morrell, our new Volunteering and Public Engagement Manager says:
“I’m enjoying getting to know you all as we approach the end of the year. I have begun contacting all our support groups and have also had the privilege of talking to some of our dazzling Community Presenters, LVAs and CAN members so far. If I haven’t spoken to you yet, I look forward to doing so soon!
“Right now, I’m developing a new online area to house all of our volunteering documents, policies, and templates. Please watch this space for an update soon. We’ll also be asking for your insight on the monthly Coffee and Connect networking sessions for all our volunteers, via a short survey. Please do let us know your views, particularly if you didn’t manage to join a session this year and wanted to be involved.
“It may be slightly early to say –but we’d like to wish you all happy holidays and a lovely festive break! Our volunteers are at the heart of supporting the osteoporosis community and I look forward to continuing to work with you all in 2025.”
A farewell from Fiona
Fiona, our departing Volunteering and Public Engagement Manager would like to extend a huge thank you to all our volunteers for their well wishes, cards and kind words as she retires. Fiona has received a beautiful Duchess of Cornwall rose as a thank you gift sent on behalf of our volunteers and is looking forward to seeing this bloom in spring.
Our new vision
Broken bones break lives. That’s why we’ve got a new vision for the charity. By 2030, we’ll make sure that no-one has to live with the pain of untreated osteoporosis, by:
- Driving ground-breaking research – to give everyone an earlier diagnosis and better treatment
- Providing life-changing support – scaling up our specialist nurse-led support
- Influencing top-quality healthcare services – ensuring access to care across the UK
- Creating a step-change in awareness – enabling people to understand their bone health risk
We’ll only be able to do this with the continued generosity and support of people like you – our amazing volunteers. Together we can achieve the future we all want: No More Broken Bones. No More Broken Lives.
You can read the full letter outlining our vision from our CEO Craig Jones here.
Check your family's risk of osteoporosis
Did you know research shows that if a parent has a broken hip, you have a higher chance of breaking a bone too? Our genes play a key role in determining the size and strength of our bones. That’s why we’re encouraging you to start a family conversation about bone health this autumn and share our risk checker. It takes less than 5 minutes to complete and could help prevent someone you love suffering the pain of broken bones in future. Here’s the link.
News from the Scottish Borders Support Group
Earlier this year, having recently moved to the Scottish Borders, Ann was looking for a second volunteer to help her set up a local support group – so she was delighted when Audrey got in touch!
Audrey tells us how the first year of the new group in Galashiels has been:
“A huge shout out to our newly formed community in Galashiels. We have held three sessions to date, where our numbers are small but most importantly, growing. Our mantra has to be: “It’s good to chat,” sharing a cup of tea or coffee and a scone.
“I am thrilled to have joined as a volunteer, supported by Ann, who set up and now leads the new Borders CAMEO Group, and brings great experience to her role.
“As well as holding CAMEO meetings in a local café, Ann and I like to get out and about in the community raising awareness of osteoporosis and our support group. Ann had planned two awareness stands in October. The first held on Saturday 5 October at the local monthly Heartland Market in Galashiels. We had a great morning talking to local people, and even had a visit from Annie, our very first support group attendee!
"Ann also organised a coffee morning at Bulldog Bakes, a café in Galashiels, to celebrate World Osteoporosis Day, which was held on Thursday 24 October. A big thank you to Will and Aaron from Bulldog Bakes (who are pictured with Ann below) for their support.
“We are very much looking forward to 2025. Ann and I will both be busy in the coming weeks planning a full, interesting, and relevant programme."
A huge thank you to Ann and Audrey for all their hard work and support this year. We’ve loved watching your group grow and flourish and are also looking forward to seeing what 2025 brings.
Spread the word through ROS News
Do you have friends, family or colleagues who aren’t members of the ROS but would like to learn more about how to support us? ROS News – our free, bi-monthly email newsletter – is especially for them!
Packed with bone-friendly recipes, research, fundraising news and more, it’s a great introduction to the charity with lots of information to help them look after their bones.
All they need to do is sign up here for free.
My Mighty Miles
A big thank you to those who organised and walked their Mighty Miles to raise funds for the ROS. We have loved hearing about your walks and seeing your photos come in. If you took part in a walk but haven’t shared your story with us yet, do let us know how you got on and share any photos of your event.
Order your ROS Christmas cards today
There’s still time to support us with your choice of Christmas cards this year. Choose from eight new designs starting from £3.49 for 10 cards, or bag a bargain with our ‘lucky dip’, which has three packs of last year's cards for just £9.
We also have a selection of eCards, ideal for sending a last-minute festive message or for those further away. You can order online here or by calling 01227 811616.
Contacting the VPE team over Christmas
- Fiona will be retiring on Tuesday 3 December, and this will be her last day.
- Lorna will be off from the end of Friday 20 December and back at work on Thursday 2 January.
- Rachel will be off from the end of Monday 23 December and will be back on Monday 6 January.
- Maddy will be out of office from Friday 20 December until Tuesday 7 January.
- Helen will finish for Christmas on Wednesday 18 December and will return to work on Monday 6 January.
This means the VPE office will be closed from 5pm on Monday 23 December when Rachel finishes until Thursday 2 January when Lorna returns. Over the Christmas break, please send any emails to volunteerengagement@theros.org.uk. This email is accessed by us all, and this will give the best chance of it being picked up as soon as possible when we return.
Helpline taking a break over Christmas
Our specialist nurses on the Helpline will also be taking a well-deserved break over Christmas. Phone lines will close at 3pm on Christmas Eve and reopen at 9am on Thursday 2 January.
December's Coffee and Connect
The final Coffee and Connect of 2024 will take place at 11am on Tuesday 3 December. This will be a chance for everyone to say their goodbyes to Fiona and thank her for all her wonderful support over the past six years.
You can book your space on Eventbrite using the link below or send an email to volunteerengagement@theros.org.uk and we can send you the joining link directly. We look forward to seeing you there.
Click to book your space: Coffee and Connect for Volunteers Tickets, Tue 3 Dec 2024 at 11:00 | Eventbrite
Building our online community
We'd like to thank the five wonderful volunteers - Jill, Sarah, Siobhan, Dave, and Shirley - who have kindly given their time to join a project group to develop our online community, “Bone Health and Osteoporosis UK” and to everyone who completed our recent community survey.
Volunteers are shaping what we do with the community. The survey of our online community members has provided us with lots of insight. Our small but mighty project group has reviewed the survey results and is bringing this together with other work to develop ideas to improve experience and engagement.
We’ve been exploring how members use our community, what’s working well, and where there’s room for improvement. We've also reviewed other charities’ online forums to see what we can learn from them.
Opportunities identified so far include:
- sharing more uplifting content
- connecting to wider ROS resources
- supporting members to access information
We warmly invite you to join our online community this holiday season. Our community is for anyone living with, or caring for someone who has osteoporosis, fractures, or other bone health issues.
Whether you’re sharing your favourite festive recipes for bone health or chatting about ways to stay active during this time of year, our community would welcome your contribution. You may also want to discuss ideas on holiday preparations, such as thoughtful gift options or ways to simplify festive tasks.
Our online community is accessible 24/7, allowing you to connect at any time, from anywhere. Hosted on the HealthUnlocked platform of health and wellness communities, it's moderated by HealthUnlocked and ROS teams to create a safe and respectful environment. It’s open to anyone over 16 and is anonymous, so you can ask questions and share thoughts and ideas freely.
Find out more about our online community here, create your free account and start connecting today. We look forward to welcoming you!
Your pictures
Thank you for reading VNN.
If you’ve got a story to share or would like to see something featured, please get in touch.
