Newsletter 1st Quarter 2026 :: Wellington Multiple Sclerosis Society Inc

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Event: Two Architect Designed Open Homes

What: Architect Designed Open Homes - a fundraiser for Wellington MS
When: Saturday 30 May 2026 - World MS Awareness Day
Where: Two homes in Brooklyn (a short walk apart)
Tickets: $25 presale via Humanitix (all proceeds to Wellington MS)

This Open Homes project has been initiated by Micah Rickards, architect of the multi-award-winning Walker Box and Person with MS, as a way to support Wellington MS.

We are hosting the Open Homes on World MS Awareness Day 2026 to raise awareness and fundraise for our free mobile Community Advisory Service which operates throughout Greater Wellington.

Read more or book: https://events.humanitix.com/two-architect-designed-open-homes-a-fundraiser-for-wellington-multiple-sclerosis (Opens on the Humantix ticketing website)

Reregistering Our Society

Thanks to everyone who joined December's meeting online. Your presence and votes allowed us to successfully re-register the Wellington MS Society, as required by the new legislation.

Free MSNZ and MSRT Research Event

On Tuesday 28 April Multiple Sclerosis New Zealand and the NZ MS Research Trust are hosting an insightful event about cutting-edge MS research at Parliament to launch MSNZ's annual conference.

This Year's AGM - Mark The date

This year's AGM will be held on Saturday 16 May 2026 - please mark the date in your calendar.

We will publish the details and papers on the website before the meeting. We will also send the agenda and a reminder out before the meeting.

Welcoming the MSNZ Bangers to Bluff team

WMS President Steve McCloskey and Treasurer Ross Judge were pleased to meet up with MSNZ's Bangers to Bluff rally team Graham Walker and Jeff Sylvester (Presients of MS Taranaki and MS Hawkes Bay) during their flying visit through through Wellington this year.

A big thank you to everyone who supports Bangers to Bluff each year. The rally is an important event in MSNZ's fundraising calendar each year.

Collection 2026 - Can You Lend A Hand?

This year, MS Awareness Week will be marked from Monday 14th to Sunday 20th of September 2026. This is our major fundraiser for the year and makes a big contribution to our annual fundraising target.

We are now making arrangements for this years collection and expect most collecting will take place:

on Wednesday 16 September, in the streets near Wellington Railway Station
or on Thursday 17th or Friday 18th September 2026 outside selected supermarkets and at other locations.
We would really appreciate any support or assistance you can lend us. Please send an email using the button below if you think you can assist.

Yes, I can help (sends an email)

Life's a Picnic for Kapiti MS Group

Image description: The Kapiti group enjoying their picnic in the great outdoors

For our first meeting of 2026 the group shared a wonderful picnic at the Waikanae Lagoon, enjoying a gorgeous day complete with a gentle sea breeze and the birds. We shared stories, flower seeds, and made some plans for the year ahead.

Thank you to our Grant Funders and Donors

Thanks to Blue Star Petone for another generous donation. The team have kindly been making annual donations over recent years and are hoping to make it along to our next Quiz at Sprig & Fern Petone.

We thank Trust House Foundation for their generous grant towards our Wairarapa Community Advisory Service costs.

Support Groups

Our support groups continue to be well attended across the region. Some new support groups have started meeting.

Afterwork Newly Diagnosed Group

One of the new groups is an afterwork meeting in Wellington for people who are newly diagnosed.

The Online Coffee Group

The online coffee group is starting again in 2026. The group meets online on the second Wednesday of each month at 7pm. Contact Debs and she will send you a Teams link.

A Carers, Whanau and Family Member Support Group

Do you support a PwMS and interested in connecting with others in a similar situation as yourself?

Our Community Advisor Maria Luisa is setting up a family and carers support group which will meet every 6 weeks for mutual support in a relaxed environment. If you're interested in coming along.please get in touch with Maria Luisa phone 022 0200 118.

Music Groups

We have applied for funding to launch a pilot music group in the Hutt Valley, and hope to set up other groups across the region later on. Keep an eye on the website for further details.

Wellington Southern Cross Round the Bays

Our wonderful team braved the blustery weather on the day and managed to raise $1061 towards our wonderful free mobile Community Advisory Service.

Thanks to everyone who supported the team or made a generous donation.

DSS Changes to Flexible Funding

The Government has announced some changes to Disability Support, that we want to make sure that our clients are aware of.

Learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3Yu012Vy8I (opens the DSS video on YouTube)

Satisfaction Survey

Work is underway to survey members on the services we deliver and how best to meet members' needs in the future.

We plan to use SurveyMonkey, with some multiple choice questions and lots of opportunity to share your ideas.

More information will be published on the website.