How To Help A Sepsis Charity

Also referred to as blood poisoning, sepsis is a very serious condition where the immune system overreacts to something like an injury or infection. It can affect people of all ages, and kills over 50,000 people every year in the UK.

Why Volunteer With A Sepsis Charity?

Symptoms of sepsis include slurred speech, confusion, breathlessness, mottled skin and extreme shivering. Cold temperatures, rashes and severe lethargy are things to look out for in children, while little ones under the age of five may stop feeding and urinate or vomit repeatedly.  

Failing to address sepsis can lead to serious organ failure and death, with the condition affecting some 25,000 children per year in the UK. When you or your child suffers from it, it's very useful to have a sepsis charity to rely on, and volunteers keep these organisations running. Donating your time to a sepsis charity can be hugely rewarding, and could enable you to learn some useful new skills too.  

How To Help Sepsis Charities

VOLUNTEER AT A SUPPORT GROUP 

Whether someone's going through a traumatic time due to sepsis, or it's claimed the life of a loved one, support groups have a major role to play. They can provide comfort and the opportunity to share experiences, as well as practical help and advice. Whether you're making cups of tea or helping organise a venue and ensuring people know about a meeting, there are many ways you could help a support group.  

BECOME AN EVENT VOLUNTEER 

You can register with some charities as an event volunteer, and then wait to be contacted about something that's happening in your area, or in a place that's suitable for you to get to. You may be needed for a variety of things, such as leafleting or collections. This is a good way to inject a little casual volunteering into your calendar without making a huge time commitment.  

RAISE AWARENESS 

Sepsis isn't a condition that a lot of people are necessarily aware of. It's not well recognised how destructive it can be. Raising awareness is crucial for helping people to spot the signs, and potentially preventing thousands of deaths each year. You could help a charity with this by tapping into your personal network either on or offline, and using resources provided to put on events and talks to share knowledge, educate people, and raise funds.  

GET YOUR COMPANY INVOLVED 

If you have your own business, or work for a company that's looking to partner with a charity, why not see if there's a sepsis charity you can help? Even if your company's not actively looking for a charity to work with, you could suggest a corporate sponsorship or partnership to help raise both awareness and funding.  

Things To Know Before You Help

Although the more time you can spare the better, there are lots of volunteering roles you could try, even if you don't have much free time on your hands.  

Where To Get Started

There are lots of great volunteering charities around you can get involved with, including the Royal Voluntary Service. People's Postcode Lottery players have raised over £13 Million for this charity so far. You can help this number to grow by signing up to play People's Postcode Lottery.