Birthday donations on Facebook Expand If you'd like to gather donations from friends on facebook for the HMSA to celebrate a birthday or other special event, you can do this in five simple steps. Go to our facebook page. Click the 'Create fundraiser' button just below the main banner Fill in the details (your target amount and when you want the fundraiser to end) Click Next - you can then edit the description to whatever you want, or leave it as the template. Click Next - you can then either change the image or leave it as the template HMSA logo. Then click create it's done - ready to share with your friends!
Hannah Ensor (Trustee) Replace this with your content Expand Hannah Ensor has a BSc (Hons) Environmental Health and worked in the field for 5 years before being medically retired at age 28 due to a hypermobility spectrum disorder and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. Despite being symptomatic all her life, she wasn't diagnosed until after coming across the HMSA - and it was the advice and support from the HMSA that helped her get the right diagnosis and on the right track to managing her conditions. While meeting misunderstandings and metaphorical brick walls when communicating about her conditions, she looked for ways to open vital lines of communication – whether with friends and family, colleagues, or medical professionals. During a hospital stay where her ability to speak was very limited, she discovered that stickmen combined with straight forward, simple written explanations got the message across well. This quickly developed into Stickman Communications®, a company using stickman cartoons to break down the barriers and communicate positively yet realistically about a wide range of disabilities, conditions, needs and symptoms. Her products, blogs, and talks are used worldwide by people with disabilities and medical professionals. Alongside this she has been a volunteer for the HMSA since 2010, is an entertaining and insightful speaker, is featured in the 2016 and 2017 ‘Power 100’ lists of Britain’s most influential people with a disability or impairment, is a Trustee of The Hypermobility Syndromes Association, has worked various other charities including MIND, Whizz-Kidz and PoTS UK, and is a contemporary dancer. .
Ben Cooper (Trustee) Ben Cooper, HMSA Trustee Expand [IMAGE PLACEHOLDER] Ben first joined the HMSA as a volunteer in February 2013 following his fundraising efforts throughout the latter part of 2012 for the charity. He went on to head the fundraising team and held the position of a trustee from March 2014 to September 2017. After a break of nearly a year and a half - though keeping in close contact with many of the team - he officially re-joined the charity in March 2019. Having been diagnosed at a young age, Ben brings a variety of different angles and viewpoints to the charity, as somebody who has experienced first-hand the school support system, a long-standing member, one of the HMSA’s record fundraisers and of course as a volunteer & trustee as well. Outside of the HMSA, Ben runs his family business, with offices throughout the UK, Europe and the USA, overseeing a team of nearly 50 staff. He also has a passion for travelling, has been to over 60 countries, and considers himself very sociable, enjoying nothing more than having a laugh with friends and colleagues. For his sins, he is also a big Leeds United fan, and football fan generally!
Dr Philip Bull (Medical Advisor and Trustee) Dr Philip Bull, HMSA Medical Advisor and Trustee Expand Dr Philip Bull, FRCP Dr Bull trained at St Thomas’ Hospital Medical School and then undertook senior specialty training in both Rheumatology and Acute Medicine at a Westminster and Charing Cross Hospitals. He worked as Consultant Rheumatologist at East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust based at the William Harvey Hospital from 1990 to 2014. During that time he developed a major interest in joint hypermobility and also held a senior management role as Clinical Director for medical services from 1994 to 2010. Dr Bull has brings his particular experience in hypermobility spectrum disorder and service development as Deputy Chief Medical Advisor to the HMSA. With regards to his clinical practice (private), these include two rheumatology clinics, at the ‘One Hospital’ in Ashford and also ‘The Chaucer Hospital’ in Canterbury. Dr Bull is also involved in medical education, running a rheumatology syllabus for East Kent Hospital's medical students and junior doctors as well as local GPs, health professionals and patient groups. Dr Bull is the clinical lead for the Kent Hypermobility Network and works on a voluntary basis for the HMSA and also, as a hospital governor for East Kent Hospitals. He has a particular interest in the Alexander Technique and Mindfulness. In his spare time, Dr Bull plays bass guitar in an acoustic rock band. Dr Bull joined the HMSA’s medical advisory board in November 2016. ‘It is great to welcome Dr Bull to the board. His governance experience and knowledge base developed throughout his NHS career will be a significant benefit for the HMSA, as it moves forward with its plans for the next 5 years. Fantastic news!’ - Donna Wicks CEO You can contact Dr Bull by clicking HERE.
What is the Beighton Score? A brief summary of the beighton scale, it's uses and limitations. Expand Beighton Score The Beighton modification of the Carter & Wilkinson scoring system has been used for many years as an indicator of widespread hypermobility. However, it is more of a research tool and an indicator of generalized hypermobility. As a clinical tool it can be a quick and straightforward thing to do BUT there are two important things to realize: i. A high Beighton score by itself does not mean that an individual has a hypermobility syndrome. Other symptoms and signs need to also be present. ii. A low score should be considered with caution when assessing someone for widespread pain as hypermobility can be present at a number of sites that are not counted in the Beighton score. For example, this can be at the jaw joint (the ‘TMJ’), neck (cervical spine), shoulders, mid (thoracic) spine, hips, ankles and feet. The Beighton score is calculated as follows: 1. One point if while standing forward bending you can place palms on the ground with legs straight 2. One point for each elbow that bends backwards 3. One point for each knee that bends backwards 4. One point for each thumb that touches the forearm when bent backwards 5. One point for each little finger that bends backwards beyond 90 degrees. Another quick tool to use is the hypermobility questionnaire. An answer of ‘Yes’ to 2 or more of the questions gives a very high prediction of the presence of hypermobility. Again, like the Beighton score, this does not mean that the person has a Hypermobility Syndrome. 1. Can you now (or could you ever) place your hands flat on the floor without bending your knees? 2. Can you now (or could you ever) bend your thumb to touch your forearm? 3. As a child did you amuse your friends by contorting your body into strange shapes OR could you do the splits? 4. As a child or teenager did your shoulder or kneecap dislocate on more than one occasion? 5. Do you consider yourself double-jointed? For the academic references, contact us via our Academic References form here. Review date: March 2020
A sponsored activity Swimming, hiking, skydiving, reading - so many options! Expand Doing a sponsored activity is a great way of combining awareness and fundraising. It's really easy to set up - just go to 'Set up a fundraising page' and complete the form. Make sure that in the section called "Tell your supporters more about why you are fundraising for us" you add information about what you are doing and when. As soon as you've sent the page in you will be able to start sharing the link with sponsors. Where appropriate, our social media team will then create an event that will link directly to your fundraising page!
Run a larger event Like a bake sale, craft fair etc. Expand The best thing to do is to contact our Fundraising Team on [email protected] who will be able to advise you. The fundraising team will be able to provide you with an application form and arrange to get a fundraising pack (including T-Shirt, Noise Maker, Balloons, Stickers, Hand Flag and Information Leaflets) sent to you – this is providing you are happy to commit to raising a minimum of £10 for us!
Donate old mobiles, gadgets and cameras Expand Through the 'Recycling Project' run by Recycling for Good Causes you can get a larger recycling sack from their website, which you can fill with any of the following: Jewellery & Watches (in any material even if damaged or broken) Currency – Any coins or banknotes, UK & foreign (even if out of circulation) Mobile Phones Cameras (old film, digital and video) Stamps (Loose, single, albums, first day covers, presentation packs, collections) Gadgets (Sat-Navs, Ipods, MP3 players, games consoles, games & accessories). When it is of an acceptable weight (10-30kg), just give us a call and we will arrange collection free of charge at a convenient time for you. It’s that simple and there is no long term commitment. All these donations will help to raise funds for the HMSA.
Recycle old jewellery and watches Expand Through 'Recycling for Good Causes' you can donate all your broken and unwanted jewellery to raise money for Hypermobility Syndromes Association. If you have any gold, silver, odd earrings, broken chains, costume jewellry and watches, you can recycle them at no cost to you whilst making money for Hypermobility Syndromes Association. They can recycle: • Any jewellery – gold, silver, costume jewellery, watches, broken and damaged items (like odd earrings, snapped chains or items with missing stones). • You can donate any unwanted banknotes from ANY country of any age, so all of those obsolete pre-euro notes are a perfect start! Our partners at Recycling for Good Causes will reuse and recycle the jewellery and Banknotes, giving the proceeds to Hypermobility Syndromes Association, saving precious raw materials at the same time. If you would like to send your jewellery and banknote recycling to us, simply use your own envelope or jiffy bag (No bigger than A5 in size) and post free of charge by printing out the freepost label you can download here, and attaching to your envelope. *Please do not send coins or stamps to the freepost address above*
Recycle stamps Expand You can now donate your used stamps to raise funds for the Hypermobility Syndromes Association - or even gather the used stamps from your friends and colleagues too! All kinds of stamps are welcome, on or off paper. Simply cut or carefully rip the postage stamp from the used envelope, being careful that you don’t damage the stamp, and once you have a collection pop them in an envelope making sure you have the correct postage to: Hypermobility Syndromes Association PO Box 16992 Sutton Coldfield B73 9YA (You will need to pay postage on the parcel you send)