Portsmouth ME/CFS Social Enterprise Looking for Volunteers

Social entrepreneur, Sally Callow. Image courtesy of Sally Callow.

S&C contributor and Portsmouth social entrepreneur, Sally Callow, is looking for volunteers for her social enterprise, Stripy Lightbulb CIC, which provides training to professionals about ME/CFS. 

Stripy Lightbulb CIC is a Portsmouth-based social enterprise on a mission to educate professionals who have a duty of care in the healthcare, education, and business sectors about the true nature of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome with their online training platform.

More than 600 people have M.E./C.F.S in Portsmouth, 250,000 people have the disabling condition in the UK and there are 17-30 million patients worldwide. It is a global health crisis that is currently hugely under-represented and the lack of knowledge is causing additional harm to patients with the condition.

I founded Stripy Lightbulb CIC in 2018, as a Portsmouth resident and a sufferer of M.E./C.F.S. for more than 12 years. I have had M.E./C.F.S. for over 12 years. I have also created and managed M.E Foggy Dog (an advocacy and fundraising platform) from 2014 which is now a social enterprise. I wrote a week-long series of articles for Star & Crescent, a social enterprise, last year for M.E. Awareness week. Both our organisations are raising awareness and educating people about the much-misunderstood condition.

Stripy Lightbulb’s mission is for the M.E./C.F.S. community to benefit from this community interest company in three ways:

  • The stigma surrounding the illness will lessen as a result of the training;
  • The support patients receive from participants of the training will be more beneficial and appropriate to the condition;
  • Surplus will be put towards M.E./C.F.S. research funding, of which there is a severe shortage.

Stripy Lightbulb CIC has a Board of Directors but I am currently managing Stripy Lightbulb CIC singlehandedly and need more hands on deck in order for my business to grow. Stripy Lightbulb CIC is currently offering the following volunteering opportunities:

  • Marketing Assistant (Must have experience of using social media for business purposes)
  • Data Entry Clerk (Required to undertake research and input data onto an Excel database)
  • Bookkeeper (Stripy Lightbulb CIC has an accountant for the end of year accounts but needs regular help managing Stripy Lightbulb CIC’s financials. Knowledge of Quickbooks Online is essential)

All posts are for a minimum of 5 hours per week and are home-based/virtual roles. Applicants must be able to provide a CV and references.

Please write to me, Sally, at info@stripylightbulb.com if you are interested in helping to tackle the M.E./C.F.S health crisis.

Further information:

ME Foggy Dog

Stripy Lightbulb CIC

Star & Crescent: M.E. Awareness Week, Part I: Raising Awareness of a Little-Known Condition

Star & Crescent: M.E. Awareness Week, Part II: What’s in a Name?

Star & Crescent: M.E. Awareness Week, Part III: A Battle for Recognition in Healthcare

Star & Crescent: M.E. Awareness Week, Part IV: The PACE trial – a ‘Medical Scandal’

Star & Crescent: M.E. Awareness Week, Part V: On Female Hysteria and Being Compared to MS

Star & Crescent: M.E. Awareness Week, Part VI: Making the Invisible Visible