Our charity partnership with The M.E. Association
What are we doing?
As a long-established classic car club we seek to be inclusive of all models of Karmann Ghia but, more importantly, all owners, however diverse their background or state of health.
This is an exciting new area of activity for the Karmann Ghia Owners Club (GB) which we hope will offer our members the chance to come together and raise funds for an important charity whilst meeting fellow enthusiasts from across the UK.
Why we have chosen The ME Association?
The KGOC (GB) has a personal connection with M.E. as one of our founding members contracted the disease in 2005 and a committee member’s son also contracted M.E. as a youngster. This means the cause is very close to all our hearts and we hope that by raising money we can help all of the people in the UK affected.
This is a great step forward for the M.E. Association, Neil Riley, Chairman of the M.E. Association said;
“We are thrilled to be entering into this three-year charity partnership with Karmann Ghia Owners Club. This is our very first charity partnership, but hopefully the first of many. M.E. is an invisible illness, so it is wonderful that the Club will be doing all that it can to raise visibility, awareness and funds to help support those whose lives have been so devastated because of it.”
Facts about M.E.
M.E. (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) is a severe neurological disease that blights the lives of around 250,000 people and is believed to cost the UK £3.3bn each year. It can lead to greater functional impairment than multiple sclerosis or cancer.
Around 25% of people with M.E. are severely affected being house-bound, or bed-bound at various stages during the illness while some are even more affected and may require tube-feeding.
- Also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) it causes persistent fatigue which affects everyday life and doesn’t go away with sleep or rest.
- Symptoms include muscular and joint pain, severe headaches, difficulty in organising thoughts or finding the right words, known as ‘brain fog’.
- The ME Association campaigns to have this life-changing condition recognised as a severe neurological illness that deserves to be taken seriously.
- It promotes research into the physical nature and causes of ME and supports ME sufferers and their families through its ME Connect telephone helpline.
Find out more at the ME Association website.
How to Give
The Karmann Ghia Owners Club (GB) has set up a JustGiving page to help with our fundraising efforts, if you would like to donate online, visit JustGiving to donate or click on “Sponsor me” button below!We appreciate anything you are able to give. We will also be having collections at the shows we attend. If you see us please come and put some change in our collecting buckets. We are looking at setting up a sponsored event such as a baton relay. Check back here for details.
