February 8, 2021
by Tony Britton, Fundraising and PR Manager, ME Association
I don’t remember which year it was exactly but the first and only time I ever met Lynne Kersh was at one of the early Invest in ME international research conferences in Westminster – dynamic speaker events which have always been the stuff of legend in the M.E. community.
Somebody like Dr Dan Peterson, from Incline Village, Nevada, had just come off stage after talking about his cohort of M.E. survivors. The lights went up in the wood-panelled lecture theatre and there she was – another person out to stretch her legs.
Until then, we’d kept in touch at a distance about this and that. But this was late afternoon, we both needed air and a break from concentrated science. Standing opposite each other, we chatted for just 30 seconds. It must have meant something because we’re still talking today.
I went away to my work at the ME Association. Lynne went on to prove her credentials in the tough old world of commerce by founding what’s now known as The Vegepa Club – people who get unique deals on a range of supplements formulated by Professor Basant Puri, from Hammersmith Hospital.
Lynne told me about the really tough negotiations she had with the product manufacturer in Cambridge and how she came through those with flying colours.
How she chanced her bank balance with her first major investment in stock. Then dozens of boxes arriving from the manufacturer to be stored up the stairs and on every spare inch of hallway at her home in Hertfordshire.
Over the years, Lynne and the club members have always donated part of each sale to biomedical research into ME. It’s been one of their USPs. And for some years now, our dedicated Ramsay Research Fund has been the sole beneficiary of this generosity.
This year, as you can see from the images, club members have donated a magnificent £814.24. Over time, this has amounted to £62,000 being donated to a very worthwhile cause.
Thank you, Lynne. You continue to do us proud. Very proud indeed.
I’m told Vegepa and its range of allied products do wonders for the foggy brains of people with M.E. but I can’t vouch for that. The ME Association never recommends products or services. If you visit the website at https://www.vegepaclub.com you will have to check them out for yourselves and make up your own mind.
The ME Association
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