May 2020 update
What local groups told us in the 2019 activity report
We know amount of time and effort goes into completing local group activity reports each year. We want you to know that we look at this information and strive to improve the experience that local groups have. We wanted to share the key findings from 2019 with you:
- Across the UK, local groups saw over 13,000 people face-to-face at meetings and events throughout 2019
- As well as events like Diabetes Week and World Diabetes Day, local groups got involved in a number of our campaigns including Fight for Flash, Food Up Front and It’s Missing – all making a real difference to people with diabetes
- Some activities included speaking to medical students about living with diabetes, running cookery, fitness and exercise classes throughout the year, hosting a bi-monthly patient forum and holding a drop in clinic with local healthcare professionals in order to provide more information to people with diabetes
- Some of your greatest achievements included speaking to over 900 people over two days at a county fair, running successful events for children and families to provide more support, increasing the number of people attending meetings by moving to a more accessible venue and raising thousands of pounds to fund research
You also told us about some of the challenges for people with diabetes in your communities. There were a number of common themes across the UK, most notably around access to emotional and psychological support for people with diabetes. Our It’s Missing campaign has already put a lot of focus on this hugely important area, and everyone at Diabetes UK is continuing to make sure people with diabetes receive the access to all the care they need.
We also asked you what support or guidance would help you best support people with diabetes in your communities. A lot of responses focused on the desire to network with other local groups, or visit their meetings. Whilst this is more difficult at present, we would always encourage you to make contact with other local groups near you and share your experiences. You can find out the other groups nearest to yours on our postcode finder or by contacting your local office. We’re also looking at ways to keep in touch and allow you to network virtually and your local volunteering team will be able to share news of any upcoming opportunities with you.
You also told us you’d like more opportunities to attend training sessions as well as online support, resources and templates. We have an online training portal that has some basic training already available, and we’ll continue to add to this in the future. If there’s anything you’d like to be able to access, contact your local team and we’ll do our best to give you the tools and information you need to run your group independently.
Finally we'd like to thank you again, firstly for taking the time to complete your annual returns because this information is hugely valuable. We'd also like to thank you for all the ongoing effort that you give to Diabetes UK through your local group, supporting people with diabetes in your communities now more than ever. Your volunteering makes a huge difference to people’s lives.
What is the local group update?
Our local group update is a mailing that is produced quarterly and sent to the main contact of each local support group, either by email or through the post. It provides all the latest news, updates and developments from Diabetes UK to ensure your group are kept informed. To opt into our mailing list please email volunteering@diabetes.org.uk.
Do you want someone else to act as main contact?
Get in touch with your local volunteering team so we can change the main contact for your group and take you off this mailing list. And if your committee members change, remember to let your local volunteering team know too.
Let's get in touch
If you have any feedback on our local group update mailing or would like to share your story, we would love to hear from you. Please email us at volunteering@diabetes.org.uk.
