UK Pop-Up Circles Tour: First stop, Buxton!

On a March afternoon in Buxton, Derbyshire, UK, the Overcoming MS community came together from across the North West of the UK to celebrate the first event in the Overcoming MS UK Pop-Up Circles Tour.

The first stop on the tour took place on Thursday 30th March and welcomed over 35 members of the Overcoming MS community. We enjoyed connecting with our volunteer Ambassadors, their Circle group members, carers and family members of people living with MS. We also welcomed Healthcare Professionals, and people wanting to find out more about the Overcoming MS Program and charity.

A milestone moment: Returning to in-person events

The Community Engagement Team at Overcoming MS was thrilled to have the opportunity to meet people from the community in person, after such a long period of having to pause in-person events.

Jake, our Community Engagement Project Officer, shared his thoughts on the day:

“The Buxton pop-up offered us the chance to find out more about people’s motivations for following the Overcoming MS program, and the challenges that living with MS involves. In our recent Ambassador survey, over 80% of people said that in-person meet-ups with their Circle members were important for them. This was our incentive to create the UK Pop-Up Tour, which we hope to expand further next year, and Buxton proved to be the perfect opportunity for us to share information and knowledge on the Program. For many members, it was the first time they were meeting in-person, and it was wonderful to have been able to make that happen.”

Sharing resources and information with the attendees

Inspiring guest speakers

The team was honoured to welcome three fantastic guest speakers on the day!

• The first speaker was Overcoming MS Facilitator and Ambassador, Phil Startin, whose talk on the Program and the benefits of being in a Circle inspired the audience.
• Sue Tibbles, an MS Nurse Specialist and a member of our Coventry and Warwickshire Circle, took to the stage to speak about her journey to Mindfulness and the numerous benefits it’s had for her personally.
• Finally, we welcomed Michelle Overton, Director of Mental Wellbeing Services UK who captured attendees with her knowledge of stress management, and how to identify their own unique stress signature, which is so important for people living with MS.

When is the next pop-up event?

The whole Overcoming MS team would like to thank everyone who was involved in making the first stop of the UK Pop-Up Circles Tour such a success! Feedback from those who attended Buxton has been fantastic, with one member commenting:

“Meeting and speaking to so many like-minded people, with MS, has made me feel part of a community – when’s the next one?!”

We know that our community spans the globe and we cannot wait to reach more communities in the UK and beyond. If you would like the opportunity to meet members of the Overcoming MS community and to find out how the Program can benefit you, our next stop on the UK Pop-Up Circles Tour will see us heading to Edinburgh, Scotland on Sunday 21st May 2023.

We will be releasing details of how to get a free ticket for this event, as well as two more UK pop-ups later this year, closer to the time. Don’t miss out!

Check out our other online and in-person events here.

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