Although times are difficult right now and we aren’t able to see our fantastic volunteers as we would normally do, it doesn't stop us sharing how each and every one of them help to make a big difference to how we are able to fundraise and support life changing research into Spinal Cord Injury.

Meet Fundraising Volunteer, Mina Lathia, from Aylesbury, who volunteers her time to support our small fundraising team.

Mina said:

"I wanted to do some volunteering and saw a volunteer position for data inputting for three months on a volunteering website and thought I would apply and see if I enjoyed the work, and if I didn't like it then it wouldn't last for too long. 

"I hadn't heard about the work of Stoke Mandeville Spinal Research and felt it would be a useful thing to do, to support a local charity and use some of the skills I had acquired whilst doing paid work.

"It feels good do be using some of my time doing useful work and freeing up the other team members' time so they can focus on other areas. 

"The small team are very friendly so I've continued to volunteer now for over five years! My days are flexible so that helps a lot too."

In 2019, Stoke Mandeville Spinal Research and the National Spinal Injuries Centre, launched the Crafty Neurons Campaign to raise funds and awareness of the quality-of-life issues affecting spinal cord injury and paralysis. Supporters were invited to ‘knit a neuron’ for a creative spinal cord to go on public display at the Centre to reflect the importance of quality-of-life research in spinal cord injury

Meet Fundraising Volunteer, Michaela Matza, from Amersham, who gave up her time to put her creative talents to good use in support of our ‘Crafty Neurons’ project in partnership with the National Spinal Injuries Unit.

How did you get involved with Crafty Neurons?

A friend in my knitting group, Sarah Dunham, is a nurse at Stoke Mandeville Hospital and she passed the details on to everyone in our group, so I decided to support the project.

How long does it take to knit a neuron?

I don't remember it taking very long. Two to three hours probably.

Had you heard about the work of Stoke Mandeville Spinal Research before you got involved in Crafty Neurons?

Yes, I had as some years ago I worked for Bucks Disability Information Network and so I used to go to visit and attend various meetings at Stoke Mandeville as part of my job so got to know what was happening in the hospital.

Why do you think it's important to support local charities, particularly in the current climate?

I have always supported local charities, both as a volunteer and an employee, as I feel they do such an amazing job in our community and I very much believe in helping local people. Of course, in the current climate, it is even more important, and I have signed up to help volunteering schemes set up this year both nationally, locally and in an independent capacity helping elderly friends and neighbours.

What do you find most fun about volunteering?

I enjoy knitting so it was an interesting way of helping to draw attention to a worthwhile project and I have never knitted anything like a neuron before! It certainly drew lots of comments when people saw what I was doing!