** UPDATE: After months of training over the summer, Roger Metcalfe succeeded in completing the half-marathon event at the recent Richmond Runfest held on Sunday 12th September. Despite a busy schedule with the Army at home and abroad, and with voluntary commitments at home, Roger was able to raise over £570 for INS. His JustGiving page is still open so please do consider a generous donation to support the work of the charity. **
Roger Metcalfe, a member of the Friends of INS writes "This is the third Richmond Runfest where I have raised funds for INS by running a half-marathon. The others were in 2018 and 2019; there was no event in 2020 of course! Friends will know, but many others might not, that INS is a registered charity providing a range of vital services that are not available through the NHS. People with a neurological condition such as stroke, multiple sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson's disease, and of course their carers, can benefit from the help that INS provides. I became a Friend of INS a few years ago because I recognised the importance of INS as a local charity providing help for people to make a real difference to their lives... Please donate through my JustGiving page! Thank you!".
You can still show your support for Roger's efforts by visiting his JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/rogermetcalfeins.
** UPDATE: With your support, over £800 has been raised so far in support of INS - thank you to everyone for their efforts and generosity! **
Join INS and the Captain Tom 100 Challenge
Supporting INS through the #CaptainTom100 challenge will help us raise funds to provide essential services for people with neurological conditions as they adapt to life after lockdown.
Get involved
To take part, you can either fundraise for INS or donate directly to the campaign. Challenge activities are based around the number 100, and can be done anytime and anywhere from Friday 30th April through to Bank Holiday Monday 3rd May.
INS staff and supporters are busy planning their challenges and we’ll be posting regular updates on our Twitter and Facebook pages. If you’ve got any additional challenges you would like to put to the INS team, do let us know.
What can you do
Fundraise or donate to INS
To start your fundraising challenge or make a donation to INS click here or go to the orange Donate button at the top of each of our website pages.
Last year we had an amazing amount of support for the 2.6 challenge and raised over £2,000 - with people completing lots of interesting challenges - from paintings and poems to exercise tasks and cooking.
Let us know if you decide to get involved this time and what ideas you come up with. We’d love to see photos of what you’ve achieved!
Thank you to everyone for your support!
Squire's Garden Centre in Twickenham has kindly supported INS over the years by helping us raise funds and collecting customer donations.
Samantha Cuthbert is Squire's Garden Centres PR Manager and has told us about an exciting new campaign to raise more money for INS and cheer people up at the same time! "Throughout April Squire's will be giving away free packs of sunflower seeds to children in return for a donation to your charity".
To take part, just pick up a free pack of sunflower seeds and a growing guide from Squire’s Garden Centre Twickenham Information Desk on Sixth Cross Road from 1-30 April. One pack of sunflower seeds per household, under 16s only, while stocks last. A donation to INS is invited by simply popping some cash into the collection box and an additional 30p from each pack of seeds will go to BBC Children in Need. Please see here for more details.
One of our patrons is inspiring others by raising funds for INS. Despite walking difficulties and the effects of Parkinson’s Disease, Sir William Wells is rising to the challenge of completing 3 daily laps of his terrace in Richmond, with the aid of a walker.
Our CEO Sarah Vines and fundraiser Tracey Hilty recently visited Sir William and his family to offer our appreciation for his efforts.
UPDATE: We are pleased to announce Sir William has surpassed his target of £4,000 in aid of INS but hopes to raise even more! You can now show your support by clicking on the orange Donate button at the top right of each page and select the option "I wish to support Sir William Wells' walk to raise funds for INS" from the drop-down list under 'Why are you donating?'.
For further details of Sir William's fundraising efforts, please click here to visit Sir William's online JustGiving page.
The London Marathon 2020 would have taken place on Sunday 26th April, with many fundraising events cancelled or postponed due to the Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak. Instead, people have been encouraged to take part in the 2.6 challenge by completing a challenge that suits their skills and is based around the number 2.6 or 26. Already, in excess of £2,000 has been raised towards the work of INS, through generous donations from our supporters.
Marie-Anne (Our physiotherapist) has been doing a 2.6 mile run followed by a 26 minute exercise circuit, doing 26 repetitions of each exercise.
Alex (Our Occupational Therapist) is doing a mini OT-style “triathlon” involving:
Tracey (Our Fundraiser) is celebrating 26 years of INS by writing a 26-line poem about the charity, with each line starting with a different letter of the alphabet. The result has now been published on our Twitter and Facebook accounts​!
Carol (Our Social Worker) is running on the spot for 26 minutes!
Ruhi (Our Expanding Horizons coordinator) is walking 2.6 miles!
Paul (Our Therapy Instructor) is doing 26 ‘keepie-uppies’ with a toilet roll instead of a football!
Check out our attempts on our Twitter and Facebook accounts!
If you’ve got any additional challenges you would like to put to the INS team, we are willing to put ourselves forward!
It is open to anyone of any age, the only requirement is that the challenge meets social distancing guidelines.
People can choose to fundraise for and ask for donations from family and friends, or donate directly to the campaign themselves. There are so many different ideas that can be done in your own home! Anything from walking 2.6 lengths of your garden (if Captain Tom has inspired you!), completing 26 minutes of mindfulness or spending 26 minutes drawing a rainbow to place in your window to support the NHS and key workers!
Let us know if you decide to get involved and what fun ideas you come up with. Would love to see photos of what you’ve achieved!
We’ve heard some great ideas so far so keep them coming!
Jon has spent 26 hours doing an incredible piece of artwork which shows staff completing their 2.6 challenges and the day to day challenges experienced by people diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease
Barbara completed 26 activities on 26th April 2020 including exercise tasks, speaking to relatives and practising her hand writing with her weaker arm to thank INS and the NHS for support with her stroke recovery
Sue has walked 26 lengths of her house and Paul spent 2.6 minutes standing on 1 leg!
We've already raised in excess of £2,000 so thank you to everyone for your support!
Please go to https://twopointsixchallenge.justgiving.com/donate, enter "Integrated Neurological Services" and click Donate.
Alternatively, you can click the donate button at the top of this page or by clicking here.
Any donations to support INS will be hugely appreciated.
For more information about forthcoming fundraising events, please visit our events page.