Mayoral support forParkinson’s & MS

Throughout his Mayoral year, the Mayor will support both charities through hosting a series of joint events, helping to raise money and awareness and encouraging support by volunteering. All proceeds of the Mayor’s Ball will also be donated to the charities.

He stated: “Both charities are very deserving in my opinion. Many of us have been touched in some way or another by these illnesses and I am delighted that as Mayor I will be able to provide some support for the tremendous work they do and to assist them in raising money and getting more people involved.

“I will be attending both charities events during the year as well as hosting a number of events myself including a Choral Singing event in mid-December and a spring event involving local pipe bands. I will be relying on the support of the good people of this city to help me raise as much money as possible for these very worthy causes.”

Raymond McGinn, chairman of the Foyle Branch of the MS Society, said the charity was honoured at being chosen by the Mayor as one of his official charities.

“We are delighted to be chosen by the Mayor and believe it’s a great opportunity for us to increase awareness of what we do and the support that is available for people with MS and their families.

“We have a number of up and coming fundraising events such as our Christmas dinner on 07 December and our 50th anniversary celebrations in May, and we are delighted to have the Mayor on board to give us the profile we need,” he said.

He added that the Foyle Branch of the MS Society was established 49 years ago and is a constituent branch of the MS Society of Northern Ireland and of the UK MS Society.

It offers support for those affected by MS in the Derry City Council and the Limavady Borough areas through a range of services and activities including Physiotherapy, Yoga, Counselling and regular group meetings and social events.

Jack Glenn, chairman of the Foyle Branch Parkinsons UK, echoed Raymond McGinn’s comments saying his charity was also honoured and delighted at being chosen by the Mayor.

“Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative neurological condition which in general affects body movement, tremor, and causes severe muscle pain.

“It is caused by a deficiency of the chemical Dopamine, due to some brain cells dying and there is no known cure. We are indebted to the Mayor for his support and hope that by being one of the official Mayoral charities we will be able to raise awareness of the disease and let local people out there know the level of support that is available for sufferers, their family and friends.

“Our aim is to raise awareness locally, so we can create a better understanding of the Disease, and how it affects the lives of over 400 people in the North West area.

“We also raise funds for research into finding a cure, and to date this year we have, as a Branch donated £7000 to the research programme. We are really delighted to be part of the Mayors Charity and look forward to sharing with Foyle MS in all the charity events where we hope greater awareness will be created of both conditions,” he said.

Anyone wishing to find out more about the charities and to get involved in the Mayoral campaign should visit www. http://www.derrycity.gov.uk/Mayor/MayorsCharity.

Further details about events organised as part of the Mayor’s Charity will be provided in the coming weeks.