The Darlington Arts society is supporting local charities in Darlington and the North East to coincide with our annual exhibitions, to help raise awareness and funds for charity.
This year we decided to donate some money to charity again after our Annual Exhbition. One of our popular members Rev. John Bower suggested The Dystonia Society. John is a valued and much loved member of the society for many years, and has experienced Dystonia affecting a loved one. Dystonia is the term used to describe uncontrollable and sometimes painful muscle spasms caused by incorrect signals from the brain. It is estimated to affect at least 70,000 people in the UK. There are a large number of different types of dystonia which affect people in widely differing ways. Dystonia is a neurological movement disorder. Faulty signals from the brain cause muscles to spasm and pull on the body incorrectly. This forces the body into twisting, repetitive movements or abnormal postures. Sometimes the symptoms are accompanied by dystonic tremor. Unfortunately there is not yet a cure. However, in the vast majority of cases, dystonia does not shorten a person's life span. Dystonia is thought to originate in part of the brain called the basal ganglia. Treatments are available and most people do manage to develop successful strategies for living with dystonia combining treatment with pain control and sensory tricks to help with social situations. Remission from symptoms does sometimes occur but is rare – occurring in around 5-10% of cases. Dystonia which starts in adult life usually remains focal to one part of the body. If dystonia starts in childhood, it tends to spread across multiple parts of the body. Click here to learn more about specific types of dystonia. We have made a donation to the Dystonia Society. If you are interested in reading about the charity and making donation in to care and wellbeing of people living with Dystonia, please check out their website, following the link below.
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The Darlington Arts society is supporting local charities in Darlington and the North East to coincide with our annual exhibitions, to help raise awareness and funds for charity.
We discussed which charity we should support for the first year. Margaret asked if Muscles for Mitchell could be considered. Margaret Wake is a valued and much loved member of the society for many years. Mitchell is Margaret’s grandson. In September 2014, Mitchell was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare, genetic neuromuscular condition caused by a mistake in the genetic code leading to a lack of production of a protein called dystrophin. It is a serious condition that causes progressive muscle weakness. This explains why Mitch finds it hard to keep up with his friends, why he falls down a lot and why he tires easily. About 100 boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy are born in the United Kingdom each year. The natural course of the disease means that muscle fibres break down and are replaced by fibrous and or fatty tissue causing the muscle to gradually weaken. As with other muscles in the body, the disease eventually affects the heart and impairs respiratory functioning and significantly limits life- expectancy. There’s currently no cure for the condition, but it is a time of hope in terms of research into potential treatments for the condition. Muscles for Mitchell was created to raise awareness of the condition and to raise essential funds to support research. All monies raised through Muscles for Mitchell go directly towards funding vital research to find suitable treatments for the disease. At present this is through the registered Duchenne charity Harrison’s Fund whose goals reflect our own. Darlington Society of Arts chose to support this fundraising campaign to help raise money towards the development of treatments needed to fight DMD. One of the first fundraising events we are holding is to hold a stall at the Sunday Darlington market and sell our art in November. All money raised will go straight to Muscles for Mitchell and to funding research. Please check this page for further updates over the next 12 months. If you wish to read more on muscles for Mitchell, please check out their online presence: https://www.justgiving.com/MusclesforMitchell https://www.facebook.com/MusclesforMitchell |
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