ME/CFS Australia (SA) Inc: 2003: keeping up the momentum

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ME/CFS AUSTRALIA (SA) INC

Registered Charity 698

Mailing address:
GPO Box 383,
Adelaide,
South Australia 5001

Office:
266 Port Road,
Hindmarsh,
South Australia 5007
Ph: (08) 8346 3237
('834 MECFS')

Office Hours:
Wednesdays, 10am-3pm

Support Line:
(Mondays and Thursdays,
10am-3pm)
Ph: (08) 8346 3237

SA country callers:
Ph: 1300 128 339
(local call)

FIBROMYALGIA HELP:
Contact
Fibromyalgia SA
at the
Arthritis Foundation of SA
118 Richmond Road,
Marleston 5033
Ph: (08) 8379 5711

ME/CFS Australia (SA) Inc supports the needs of sufferers of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and related illnesses. We do this by providing services and information to members.

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Information and Support 2004 is an online appeal that aims to improve our Information and Support Line.

ME/CFS Australia (SA) Inc aims to keep members informed of the various research projects, diets, medications, therapies etc. All communication, both verbal and written, is merely to disseminate information and not to make recommendations or directives.

Unless otherwise stated, the views expressed on this Web site are not necessarily the official views of the Society or its Committee and are not simply an endorsement of products or services.

2003: Keeping up the momentum

By way of introduction I will say that 2002 has been a year in which we have stabilized the Society, and I want to reiterate some of the reasons why. The cornerstone has been developing an office team which, largely, has operated independently of the Management Committee. To do this we have increased our number of volunteers and spread the work around. This has released the Management Committee to be able to do what it should be doing – and that’s writing grants, planning fundraising activities, lobbying the government etc… If we lose this office team, the Society can easily go backwards, and quickly… So my main priority is to add this team, so it continues on into 2004 and beyond.

The second biggest reason for improvement is good recruiting. We have been able to get team-players on board, and we have chosen to not do some things if there is not a person available with the skills to do them. Our focus, too, is on building a team. Appointments are therefore not made just on the individual, but how that person will work with the existing team.

And the third main reason for our improvement is a change in organizational culture. We have made a point of establishing an unwritten rule that volunteers are not ‘flogged to death.’ Those who come on board are not pressured into doing more and more. We also operate on mutual trust and seek to give team members a chance to show initiative, and do our best to encourage and affirm other team members.

We now have good momentum – with all but one of the Management Committee continuing on from 2002 – and I see my job as making sure this continues in 2003.

Now is the time to talk to us about getting involved. My promise to everyone is that should you volunteer for a specific task, or a certain number of hours per week, that is all you will have to do. No-one will get sucked into the ‘vortex’ that often happens at volunteer-based organizations.

Now, whilst we have momentum, is the time to involve yourself, but I will qualify that. We mostly (but not always) require people who can make long-term commitments – even if it’s just five hours a week – rather than short-term commitments. It takes a lot of time and effort to train people, and the organization will grow best, if we can build up a team of people who understand the organization and ‘have been around for a while.’

So, if you – or someone you know – are healthy enough, and have the time, then maybe you fancy working a day a week in the office, or maybe joining the support line team to do one day a week on the phone from home – or maybe you would like to write to some schools or businesses to ask for support?

2003 looks to being a good year for the Society. And the more the work is spread around, the more enjoyment and satisfaction there is for everyone involved.

Paul Leverenz
President