The Chiltern Branch provides practical help, information and local support to people with MND and those close to them, whenever they need it and in a number of ways. Our team of trained Association Visitors can provide you with practical support and information and will be able to signpost you to the local health or social care professionals and services that you may need to access, and they will provide an on-going link to the Association.
We are able to provide financial support within guidelines set by the Association. These can be towards equipment and domestic adaptations as well as services and facilities that help to maintain quality of life in terms of independence, dignity and social connections. We can provide support to carers and to children and young people affected by MND. We can also help towards the cost of using taxis with wheelchair access to enable people to attend our social events. We support local fundraising and awareness raising activities and any national MND Association or local campaigns.
Richard Coleman
It is with the greatest sadness that we announce the sudden death of Richard Coleman, our Branch Chairman, on 25 January 2023.
Richard joined the Branch with his wife Jo in 2005 shortly after her diagnosis of MND. After her death from the disease in 2006 he took over as Branch Chairman, a position he held ever since.
In 2011, Richard was elected as a Trustee for the MND Association and in 2018 was elected as Chair of the Board Trustees, which ended last June.
Together with the Chief Executive, Richard led the Association through periods of great change and growth and was rightly proud of his contribution to the goals of the Association. He was passionate about research into finding the holy grail of treatments and ultimately a cure for MND and worked tirelessly to campaign for better funding and awareness of the needs of families living with MND.
However, even with his national responsibilities as Chairman of the Trustees, Richard remained a proactive Chair of the local team - leading our local meetings and ensuring that the volunteer team were supported. He was very approachable - always calm, reassuring and available to listen and offer sound advice to any of the volunteer team. Always there to roll up his sleeves at our many fundraising events - doing whatever was required – selling raffle tickets, dishwashing, cleaning up after events etc and happy to do so.
Richard was partial to a quiz and regularly attended the monthly quizzes in aid of the Chiltern Branch held at the White Lion Pub at Cryers Hill. Our team - The Chiltern Challengers, typically came towards the bottom of the league but Richard was typically optimistic every month - "this month we'll win"! Sadly that never happened. More recently Richard took over the role of Quizmaster at the pub and as a result, the Chiltern Challengers dropped even further down the league - he set some very tough questions.
Richard will be greatly missed by the Association and most importantly by all who have volunteered at the Chiltern Branch over the last 17 years.
Our thoughts are with Richard's sons at this very sad time - Nick, Dom & Tim and his grandchildren.
The Branch has a book of condolence that we would like to present to Richard's family and if you would like to sign the book -you can send your message to us by emailing chiltern@mndassociation.org
Read our latest newsletter here
Volunteers are always welcome to join the Branch to help with fundraising or other activities that we organise. We also have active social media sites on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Chiltern Support Meetings
We run regular Support meetings which people living with MND, their carers and family members are welcome to attend – they are very informal and provide an opportunity over light refreshments to meet and chat with others going through the same experience. At the moment they are held at Cedar Barn, Barn Avenue, Hazlemere HP15 7BQ, and the date and time of the next meeting are always shown at the top of this web page. If you would like any further information, please contact Cyndy Mepham at chiltern@mndassociation.org or 07716 667582
Fundraising
JustGiving page for donations to the Branch
If you or your family or friends wish to make a donation to the Branch for any reason, you can do so by means of a JustGiving page that we have set up for that purpose at: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/chiltern-branch-mnda
The page is completely secure and has the great advantage to our Treasurer that it will automatically claim Gift Aid on donations that qualify, and that increases the amount donated by 25% at no cost to the donor.
Give as you live
'Give as you live' is a great organisation that gives a charity that you nominate a donation every time you shop with over 6,000 stores through their website. All you need to do is register for an account and pick your chosen charity (like us!). Then you can browse for the store you want to shop with either through the 'Give as you live' website or through their app. You will then be diverted to the website/app of the relevant store to complete your shopping. The company you shop with pays a commission to 'Give as you live' and they then donate 50% of that commission to your chosen charity. All the big retailers are on there like John Lewis, eBay and Tesco.
