Our first year as a Charity

Since obtaining Charity Status in January 2013, we have been working very hard to raise awareness of Chronic Pain and the devastating effects it can have on people’s lives and those around them. Chronic Pain can, and usually does affect every aspect of a person’s life, often bringing with it emotional distress and financial hardship. People who have visited the Website and contacted us, have said how reassuring it is to feel that they are not alone, and that they now have somewhere to turn, which for a Chronic Pain sufferer is just priceless.

During the past few months we have enjoyed considerable support from our local media with interviews and features on BBC Radio Northampton the Chronicle & Echo and Evening Telegraph. Going forward our challenge is to maintain this coverage and develop our awareness in the national arena.

We have also been proactive in developing relationships with clinical professionals and other organisations with whom we can work in partnership. As part of this strategy we attended two Countywide Chronic Pain GP Training days which had a large turn out and provided us with some very positive feedback.

Our newly created awareness cards, carrying the A Way With Pain logo, have been widely distributed in local surgeries, medical centres, hospitals and pharmacies. In November these were also distributed at the London British Medical Journal Chronic Pain Masterclass.  

Our Website continues to evolve and grow with helpful features and advice. We are also pleased to see traffic on the site increasing week upon week.

The first fundraiser of 2014 will be an evening at the Malt Shovel Tavern in Northampton on Thursday 27th March. This will be in the form of a Horse Racing Evening and Raffle with sporting memorabilia and other items. This should be a fun evening, with hopefully a few surprises thrown in!

Following the success of our Charity Golf Day at Overstone Park in July 2013, plans are well advanced for our second Golf day on Tuesday 15th July this year.

Fundraising continues to be very important for us as we have some ambitious plans to fulfil. These include part funding 24 places for people with Chronic Pain to go on a Mindfulness Course. This will enable them to manage their pain better. We are in the process of creating a ‘Hardship’ fund to make one off grants to people needing financial assistance relating to their condition, and are proud to say, we have been able to help someone already.

We still have a mountain to climb, and one of the hardest things with Chronic Pain is that it cannot be seen. Chronic Pain is still not readily understood by many despite it affecting so many millions of people. Sadly the numbers just keep rising. However, it is great to know that as a fledgling Charity we are making good progress.

Together lets make this invisible illness visible!