Over the years, the Isle of Man MS Society has organised all sorts of fundraising events – the annual Wheel & Walks; psychic evenings; afternoon teas; abseils; Zumba sessions; music quiz; Musical Legends night; bingo nights and more.
Fundraising comes in all shapes and sizes, from the larger MS Society IOM organised events to people having cake bakes, karaoke nights, dress down days at work or from people doing fantastic feats like running marathons, doing parachute jumps, or doing the parish walks.
If you have an idea for a fundraising event or would like support for an event that you have organised, please contact derekpatience@hotmail.com or isleofman@mssociety.org.uk or call or text 480755.
Your donation will help stop MS
Vicky Quilliam has been very busy raising funds for the MS Society. Vicky’s sister Mandy and Jody have MS, and her uncle and her grandmother also had MS.Vicky’s fundraising efforts began rather sedately last year with a raffle at her then employer, MAC Group. Then in April 2024, the children wanted to get involved with her fundraising, so she organised a sponsored walk from Laxey beach up to the top of Snaefell. On a cold, cloudy Sunday morning last spring, Vicky accompanied by more than 20 friends and family members started walking from the beach and trekked over 10km in distance, some of which was over rough terrain, as Vicky found out when she tried to take a short cut and found her hip deep in a bog. A few hours later, they looked down from the top of Snaefell, some 200 metres higher, down to Laxey beach. Then they enjoyed a very welcomed cup of coffee and cake at the Summit Cafe.Then in June last year, more funds were raised when Scott Wallace, Portia Lewis and Sasha Grant all took part in the Parish Walk.
None of the these were exciting enough for Vicky, who then organised a fundraising parachute jump which was scheduled for July 2024. Unfortunately, technical problems with the aeroplane meant that the parachute jump. Undeterred, Vicky and her sister Jody, along with friends, Louise, Gemma and Odetta travelled to Northern Ireland in July 2025 and they bravely (or foolishly!) all parachuted breathtakingly from 15,000 feet. Following the amazing parachute jump, Vicky commented “I cried in the plane, swore like a sailor at the door, and then magically became Zen-like the moment I was pushed out”.
So far, Vicky and her friends’ fundraising endeavours have raised an astonishing £7,000 for the MS Society. And Vicky’s fundraising efforts are by no means finished. Over the next year or so, she plans to organise another sponsored walk from Laxey beach to Snaefell and later will complete a cycling challenge whilst the men in her family do the parachute jump.
In anyone has any weird or wacky fundraising ideas for Vicky, please email them to derekpatience@hotmail.com.
We had our first Wheel & Walk in 2017 at the NSC in which with 75 people took part; participation numbers increased steadily every year since then and 170 people of all ages took part in 2024.
Many participants have MS and we are tremendously grateful for the support provided by a huge number of thoughtful friends and family members, not only for taking part, but also for their help to enable some of us who have MS to take part too. The Wheel & Walk is a great opportunity for those with MS, regardless of their level of ability, to actually take part in a fundraising event as the NSC track is only 800 metres long and participants can do as many or as few laps as they wish.
From a fundraising standpoint, the 7 Wheel & Walks that we have done thus far, have been incredibly successful and approximately £40,000 has been raised for the MS Society IOM.
It’s also a great social event, where we can sit and cheer each other on and then we can meet afterwards for teas and coffees in the Sports Institute building.
Click on the links below to see photos from various Wheel & Walks
People sometimes go to extraordinary lengths to raise money for the MS Society. However, nobody has come anywhere close to the amazing achievement of Manx endurance runner Orran Smith. Orran astonishingly completed the 268 mile long Montane Spine Race (the length of the ‘Pennine Way’) in just 5 days. He climbed bleak mountainous icy ranges, ran through darkness, blizzards and horrendous sub-zero temparatures, whilst constantly battling physical and mental exhaustion.
Extremely arduous challenges like the Spine Race are painful, taking a toll on body and mind. The race itself, with its consecutive days of pushing mind and body limits in extreme cold, can induces inflammation, oxidization, and lots of other bodily disorders. Sleep deprivation during the race can bring about psychological challenges like hallucinations, delusion, and mental confusion.
387 people generously donated to Orran’s fundraiser, including a donation of £1,400 from Orran’s friends at the Manx Fell Runners Association, and in total a whopping £11,287 was raised for the Isle of Man MS Society.
A truly remarkable achievement and one that we are extremely grateful for.
To read more about Orran’s magnificent fundraising and to see more photos, please click here.
The Parish Walk which takes place in June each year, and has done so since 1913, is 85 miles long and walkers pass through all 17 parishes in the Isle of Man. Over 1,000 walkers do the walk each year, many of them are raising funds for charity. For many years, a huge number of walkers have suffered aching legs and blistered feet whilst pounding the miles to raise money for the MS Society.
In June 2025, Robecca Barnes, Elizabeth Corrin, Steven Kelly, Stephen Hanbridge and Ella Scott walked a total of 172 miles and raised a whopping £3,400. Last year, Charlotte Caley, Scott Wallace, Portia Lewis and Sasha Green all took part in the walk. A few years ago, Charlie Robinson, Matthew Banning, Conor Boal, Max Gamill, Glen Walker and Tom White (AKA – The Manx Proclaimers) walked 500 miles for MS Society.
And it’s not just the adults who are raising money. In September 2025, 4 year old Lyra Cordas took part in the mini-Parish Walk around the Arboretum, raising £100 for the MS Society.
So who is going to do the Parish Walk or the mini-Parish Walk in 2016 to raise funds? If you are planning to raise funds, please go to Just Giving (https://www.justgiving.com) and create a fundraising page. Please note that the MS Society Isle of Man is not listed separately as a charity on Just Giving. On your fundraising page, please select MS Society and then please add a comment stating that you are raising funds specifically for the MS Society Isle of Man Group. This will ensure that the funds raised will flow from the MS Society UK to the MS Society Isle of Man Group. If you have any queries or you need assistance with setting up either your Just Giving fundraising page or you need help to set up your own sponsorship form, please email derekpatience@hotmail.com or call 480755.
Quite a few years ago now, the MS Society IOM did abseils in 3 different years, down the Isle of Man’s iconic TT tower.
The abseils were tremendously successful with more than 200 people taking part, many of whom have MS, in the 3 abseils and the MS Society IOM received over £20,000 over the three events.
It’s been far too long since our last abseil. Maybe the time is right for those who are brave enough to once again “go over the top” and have another abseil for MS.
Coffee mornings are a great fun way to fundraise. In fact in 1975, we had our first ever coffee morning which raised £16. More recently, Jenny Faragher and her daughters Louise and Suzanne held a coffee morning (and raffle, a silent auction and all sorts of fundraising games) and raised an astonishing £3,677 for the MS Society.
Member Val Crowe has organised a number of psychic evening fundraisers, featuring psychics David Craig and Maddie. The psychic evenings have all been held at Pulrose Golf Club and everyone has been sold out and they have raised more than £4,000 for the MS Society
Douglas Golf Club was the venue for our 80’s music and trivia quiz, which was compèred brilliantly by quizmaster Rob Cope. And the Palace was the venue for the fancy dress Musical Legends party, which was "attended" by Boy George, David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Adam Ant, Noddy Holder and many more superstars. These two fulfilled fundraisers raised almost £6,000 for the MS Society.
