Fundraising for Trigeminal Neuralgia and the Trigeminal Neuralgia Association UK, the facial pain charity (TNA UK).
What is Trigeminal Neuralgia?
Firstly, thank you for thinking about fundraising for trigeminal neuralgia. Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN) is a rare, debilitating condition that causes intense facial pain, often described as the most severe pain known to medicine. Not only this, but the unpredictable, stabbing pain can be so intense that TN has been nicknamed the “suicide disease”. Living with TN can lead to isolation, anxiety, and depression due to its impact on daily life and the difficulty many sufferers face in getting a timely and accurate diagnosis. Furthermore, there is no cure for TN. Medication can help mask some of the effects, and brain surgery may relieve the pain but this is not guaranteed.
What do we do at TNA UK?
The Trigeminal Neuralgia Association UK (TNA UK) is the only national charity dedicated to supporting those affected by TN and facial pain. We provide critical support services, fund essential research, raise awareness, and advocate for better care and treatment options.
1. Providing Essential Support Services
TNA UK operates both a helpline and e-helpline, offering crucial advice and emotional support to TN sufferers and their families. Our trained volunteers provide a lifeline for those who feel lost, isolated, and in need of guidance. Your fundraising efforts directly support these services, ensuring they remain available to anyone who needs them.
2. Reducing Isolation Through Regional Support Meetings and National Webinars
Isolation is a common experience for TN and facial pain sufferers, particularly those who struggle to find effective treatment or support. TNA UK organises regional support meetings, national conferences, and online sessions to connect TN sufferers, carers, and healthcare professionals. These gatherings provide much-needed support, foster a sense of community, and enable the sharing of valuable experiences and knowledge. Your fundraising helps us expand these opportunities and reach more people.
3. Raising Awareness and Advocacy
Despite its severity, TN remains under-recognised by the public and even within the medical community. This lack of awareness often leads to delayed diagnoses and inadequate treatments. TNA UK is dedicated to raising awareness through public campaigns, professional training, and advocacy initiatives. By fundraising, you are enabling us to educate more people and advocate for improved care and resources for TN and facial pain sufferers.
4. Funding Research for Better Treatments and a Cure
There is no cure for TN, and existing treatments often have limited effectiveness or undesirable side effects. Research is critical to developing better treatment options and, one day, finding a cure. TNA UK funds ground breaking research projects that aim to better understand TN and develop innovative treatments. Your fundraising efforts directly contribute to these projects, providing hope for the future.
5. Empowering Sufferers and Their Families
Knowledge is power, particularly for those living with a chronic condition. TNA UK provides reliable information on TN management, treatment options, and coping strategies. This empowers sufferers and their families to advocate for themselves and make informed decisions about their care. Your fundraising enables us to produce these resources and ensure they reach those who need them most.
The importance of fundraising
We cannot achieve what we need to alone—we rely on passionate and committed fundraisers like you. Every effort you make, every event you organise, and every pound you raise makes a real difference in the lives of those living with TN and other facial pain.
This guide aims to equip you with everything you need to know about fundraising for TNA UK. It covers the importance of your efforts, practical ideas to inspire you, and step-by-step guidance on how to make your fundraiser a success. Whether you are an individual, a family, a workplace, a school, or a community group, you have the power to create change.
Day to day fundraising with minimal hassle
There are lots of things that you can do that don’t involve hiking up a mountain or sitting in a bath of baked beans!
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Online shopping
Register with ‘Give as You Live’ or ‘Easy Fundraising’ and select Trigeminal Neuralgia Association as your chosen charity. Then use this website to shop at thousands of retailers (including M&S, John Lewis, TrainLine and various supermarkets). It’s as simple as that. A proportion of your spend, with no donation from you, comes directly to us.
Perhaps you could sign up to one of these on Monday 7th and even better, email your contacts asking them to use it too. It’s such an easy way to raise funds for us.
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Straightforward donations
Of course we welcome one off and ongoing donations given through our website https://www.tna.org.uk/donate/ or using the text-to-give service (text TNAUK5 to 704070 to donate £5, or TNAUK10 to donate £10) but maybe you or a loved one would be able to do something else that also raises awareness?
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Social media fundraisers
Facebook, X, and Instagram all allow users to fundraise and raise awareness via their platforms. These can be to celebrate birthdays or other significant events Please do get in touch with us at [email protected] if you need help setting this up.
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Donation boxes
Could you approach a business and ask if they would host one of our collection boxes? You’d just need to pop round regularly to empty it, send us the donation, and thank the hosts.
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Legacy giving
Leaving us a gift in your Will is a lasting way to make a huge difference to us, the support we can offer, and the research that we can support. Perhaps this would be a good opportunity to revisit your current Will if you have not done so for a while, or even write your first. We advise you to obtain the services of a professional for this, Wills of York (01759 361 971) generously provide our members with a free basic Will writing service.
Quizzes, auctions and fairs
Perfect as the nights draw in and you’re looking for something to host indoors, quizzes and auctions (or even combine both) can be really fun evenings
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Quiz nights
Quiz nights are amazing ways to generate awareness, and raise funds for us. Perhaps you could ask a small group of friends to team up to write the questions and run the event, unless of course you’re a seasoned quizzer yourself!
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An auction of promises
Enjoy an evening with your community bidding on promises that people have offered. These might be an afternoon of gardening, a laptop repair or IT lesson, a horse riding lesson, or someone cooking a dinner or birthday cake? Businesses and individuals can offer up their promises and the options are endless.
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Concert
Could you book a venue and invite a local band, orchestra or choir to perform for a night of beautiful music in your community?
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Art and craft fair
Or maybe you would be able to host a fair for local artists and craftspeople to display their work. The run up to Christmas are always popular times for these kind of events and the stall hire and / or percentage of sales will help TNA continue our work. You could even include an amateur photography competition as part of this fair. Maybe we have some artists in our own community that produce art or crafts to sell, do let us know if you are one of them!
Calling all foodies!
How about using the pull of food to help us?
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Tea for TNA
This is our flagship fundraising event! Most people love a cup of tea or coffee and a chatter. Don’t forget to get in touch with us and we’ll give you some leaflets or posters to help open up conversations about TN and facial pain.
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Cake sales
Are you good at baking? How about approaching your workplace or a social group and organising a bake sale. Or perhaps a ‘Bake Off’ style event at work would go down well!
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Cooking competitions
Could you organise a cookery competition in your local community? Invite enthusiastic cooks to bring a dish along and perhaps have it judged by a local celebrity chef! The cooks could then sell off portions of their dishes as part of the event.
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Dinner parties
Roll out the Vienetta and host a themed dinner party inviting donations from your guests!
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Cooking lessons
Do you have a real skill and fancy passing it on? Could you run a cooking lesson either face to face or virtually (where participants follow along at home)?
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Help us create a cook book
Please send us a delicious TN friendly recipe that you love. They can be delicious drinks, scrumptious snacks, marvellous mains, or a cheeky little dessert. When we have enough we’ll be compiling a cook book and would love to include many of your recipes. Please include a little about yourself and why you think this recipe is great.
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Wine tasting
Fancy yourself as the new Oz Clarke or Jilly Goolden? Why not host a wine (or gin) tasting party. Get the message across about TN before the evening progresses too much though!
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Garden party
Could you host a garden party? Maybe ask some local musicians or other entertainment to help it feel really special.
Seasonal events
As the seasons roll around, you might be able to theme something for a season.
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Easter
Could you host an Easter egg hunt or a craft event for children in the run up to Easter? Did you know you can send someone a virtual hot cross bun through our online shop https://www.tna.org.uk/shop/ ?
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Summer
Maybe you could host a fundraising barbecue for TNA and perhaps include some garden games to help create an atmosphere.
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Halloween
How about a pumpkin carving competition for your road or community?
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Christmas
Christmas is the time where Christmas jumper days and charity fundraising often occur in workplaces. Maybe your work could adopt TN as its seasonal charity this year. We sell TNA Christmas cards through our online shop https://www.tna.org.uk/shop/or you may be skilled in art and design your own. Make sure you buy yours early, last year they flew off the shelves!
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New Year
You know that habit that you would really rather not have? Why not seek sponsorship to help you break it as part of your New Year Resolutions?
Active stuff
For those of you up for a physically demanding challenge, here we go! For those of you who would rather watch how about trying to identify a friend who might be interested in doing one of these?
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Bike ride
Whether it’s from city to city, coast to coast, or even country to country, sponsored bike rides are amazing ways to raise money for us. Pick your route and pop that lycra on!
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The three peaks challenge
Are you up for a visit to England, Scotland and Wales? Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon are calling. And all in 24 hours?! Sign up with a company that coordinates and organises the travel element between the three mountains to help complete this epic challenge!
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(Virtually) swim the channel
Whether you want to do the real thing or be part of a team who tot up their lengths in a warmer-than-the-channel pool and swim the equivalent, above all you deserve to ride the wave of success that undertaking a challenge like this gives.
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Sponsored walk
Challenge yourself to a sponsored walk, whether alone or as part of a bigger group and treat yourself to a new pair of trainers in the process! We’d be happy to send branded t-shirts for any fundraising idea that you’re undertaking.
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A marathon
Of course the marathon had to feature in our guide and are obviously incredible ways to raise money and awareness. If you’re interested in running a marathon, or half marathon, please do get in touch with us.
Less active stuff!
We all need something a bit more sedate in our lives from time to time. Take a look at the following for some more ideas.
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Community car wash
Can you get together a group of people to help run a community car wash, whether at a specific site or around your local streets.
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Have a clear out
How about decluttering and passing on some of those things you no longer need whether that’s an online auction site, at a car boot sale (find a local one here) or a second hand clothes site.
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Plant sale
If you’re a green fingered gardener with a potting shed full of cuttings, how about selling them on as part of a plant sale?
Even TN can inspire you
Have you ever thought about how TN can inspire fundraising ideas? You could organise something that gives people an insight into TN or about your coping strategies.
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Walk in my shoes
Create a challenge that simulates TN in some way by providing participants with experiences that recreate the challenges you might face.
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Sponsored silence
For example, if TN pain causes you to not be able to talk then a sponsored silence by others might be a good challenge to set.
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Book club
Do you relax with a book as part of your day? If so then setting up a book club or organising a read-a-thon could be something you do.
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Duration events
Our recent survey showed that a significant number of TN sufferers wait six months before receiving a diagnosis. Challenge people to undertake a sponsored no-haircut / beard growing for six months (or a period of time that is relevant to you) and afterwards partner with local barbers / hair salons for a group cut at the end.
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(Mara)thons
How about a read-a-thon or yoga-a-thon if these are ways you relax (or even a game-a-thon, dance-a-thon or karaoke-a-thon)!
Thank you for your continued support fundraising for trigeminal neuralgia, it makes such a difference. If you would like further support, please email [email protected] who will be happy to help you.
