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Welcome to June's Volunteer Network News
And to Volunteers’ Week 2022, which starts today and runs until 7 June.
This week is an annual opportunity to publicly celebrate and recognise the incredible efforts of our amazing volunteers. Thank you for the time and commitment you give so generously to the ROS. Our CEO, Craig Jones has recorded a personal thank you message, which is available to watch here and on our social media channels. If you use social media, do keep an eye out on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for our ‘meet our volunteers’ videos. We hear from some of our volunteers about why they got involved with the ROS.
As part of this exciting week, our President, Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Cornwall, has very kindly provided a handful of balloted tickets to the BBC’s Platinum Jubilee Party for ROS volunteers. We hope those of you selected enjoy this very special event and we look forward to seeing your photos from the day.
From Monday 6 – Wednesday 8 June, we look forward to meeting you virtually at our ‘Coffee and Connect’ online sessions, taking place on Microsoft Teams. Hosted by different members of ROS staff, this is a chance to say hello and catch up over a cuppa. We hope to see you there!
And finally, to shine a light on all our wonderful volunteer teams and support groups, we’d love you to take a group selfie to share with us. Whether you're meeting in person or virtually, simply take a photo of your group all together and send it in to us at volunteerengagement@theros.org.uk. If you're taking a picture in person, just remember to ensure the photo is well-lit by standing opposite a natural light source, like a window, if available.
Enjoy the week and a big thank you from us.
Helen, Fiona, and Susan
Volunteering & Public Engagement Team
Support group meetings
We’re excited to see so many of our support groups and volunteer teams with full programmes of meetings, which are now well underway. Some groups are continuing to meet online, and some are now meeting in person.
Recent face-to-face meeting highlights include the Tees group, who were joined by a local specialist osteoporosis nurse for an update; York, who hosted a seated exercise session and Exeter, who were joined by an occupational therapist to discuss support aids and equipment for people living with osteoporosis.
One of the benefits of this flexible, hybrid approach to meetings, is the continued option to join an online meeting run by any of our groups across the UK on topics that interest you. You can take a look at our different groups and their programmes on our support group page, which is where you’ll also find information about your local group and whether they’re meeting face to face.
If there isn't a group in your area, why not consider starting your own? For more information and help from us on getting set up, please email us at volunteerengagement@theros.org.uk
The Royal Garden Party
On 11 May, celebrations took place for Her Majesty, the Queen’s annual Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace. As a thank you to our fabulous volunteers, we were able to offer an invite to the event by ballot. Sholto, one of our volunteers who attended, shares his experience of the day.
"The day of the Royal Garden Party may have been wet, but we didn’t let it dampen our spirits. Once inside the palace grounds we made our way to meet The Master of the Household's assistant to be given information about our introduction to Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Cornwall.
"HRH showed a keen interest in our volunteer roles with the ROS and a deep knowledge and understanding of osteoporosis. She chatted about a variety of topics, including the latest research and importance of raising the profile of osteoporosis.
"After our meeting, we were free to collect our afternoon tea whilst listening to the bands playing and exploring the rest of the beautiful garden."
It was an unforgettable experience and one that will remain in our memories.
Online community presenters
Our online community presenter volunteers have had a busy spring, delivering their presentations on bone health and the work of the ROS to a variety of community groups and staff days around the UK.
From Stirling to Chelsea, our presenters have engaged with new audiences including the Women's Institute, Mothers’ Union, U3A and the Soroptimists. Last week, our biggest audience to date was achieved with HMRC for a talk linked to their staff disability awareness programme. Over 300 people joined Jean for her first virtual session - well done Jean!
Improving Risk Communications in Osteoporosis research
The research is looking into how patients want to be communicated with about their fracture risk. We are looking for anyone with a diagnosis of osteoporosis to participate and share their thoughts. The research will be conducted over Zoom and will take place late afternoon to evening as the researchers are based in the USA. Interviews will be on an individual basis and will last between 40-60 minutes. The project is running until the end of July so there is plenty of time to get involved. To find out more and to take part, please email volunteerengagement@theros.org.uk
Bone Matters
An incredible 350 people attended the first national Bone Matters webinar in May on understanding drug treatments for osteoporosis.
Leading experts, Dr Nicola Peel, Dr Zoe Paskins and Professor David Armstrong explored key topics including managing side effects and making decisions about medications. Over 140 questions were asked live during the event.
Early access to the webinar recording is now available to members until 9 June, by logging in to your members’ dashboard. It will then be shared on the Bone Matters web page and on the ROS YouTube channel.
Coming up at the end of June is a discussion on osteoporosis and intimacy between experts and patients about maintaining relationships while living with osteoporosis and broken bones. More information will be available in Member News and on social media later in the month.
Polymyalgia rheumatica and osteoporosis webinar
On Tuesday 7 June at 11am, our Clinical Advisor, Sarah Leyland, will be talking to the charity Polymyalgia Rheumatica & Giant Cell Arteritis UK (PMRGCAuk) about polymyalgia rheumatica and osteoporosis.
This is a free webinar being held during PMRCAuk Week 2022 (6-13 June) and a recording will be available at a later date. Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) is an inflammatory condition of unknown cause. It is recognised to be an autoimmune illness. It causes pain, tenderness, and stiffness in the large muscles around the shoulders, hips and back. It uniquely affects people over the age of 50. It tends to affect women more than men.
Please note this event is external (not an ROS event) and is being coordinated by PMRGCAuk, the registered charity set up to meet the needs of people with the debilitating conditions polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) and giant cell arteritis (GCA).
This webinar may not be of interest to everyone, but if you have this condition, or coordinate a support group and want to increase your awareness, please do consider joining.
If you know anyone affected by the condition, please do share the event details with them. Visit the PMRGCAuk website to sign up.
Recruiting now
The ROS is looking for people who want to get involved with, and further support the work of the charity. There are lots of ways to get involved as a volunteer, including organising your local support group or by offering your time and skills for individual volunteer roles. If you are interested in finding out more, the team would love to hear from you. You can see our current volunteer opportunities here.
Thank you for reading VNN.
If you’ve got a story to share or would like to see something featured, please get in touch.
