No more membership fees – and a greener approach to sharing our news!

JHorsfall • Feb 14, 2024

Changes to our membership offer - and to the way we share our news!

We want everyone in the PWS community to be able to be a member of PWSA UK so we have taken the decision to scrap membership fees. 


It’s important to us that we represent everyone affected by PWS in the UK; children, adults, families, and people working in the field of PWS, so that everyone has a say in the Association, and everyone can access the same services, information and support, whatever their financial situation. 


From now on, you will be able to become a member by simply registering your details. 


Currently, the cost of membership (administration, printing and posting the newsletter and PWS Journeys) far outweigh the income from membership. In fact, did you know that it costs us around £8,000 a year to print and post out our magazines? That’s money we could be spending on providing even better support to our community. 


Equally, our ethical policy states that we reduce our impact on the environment by becoming as paperless as possible. This means we will move away from printed newsletters and information, and shift to electronic updates and communication. This means we will be changing to a digital version of our main PWS News magazine, sent out as an attachment by email.


We appreciate that this is not possible for some of you, and we are committed to providing hard copies of newsletters for those unable to access email or the internet. 


We will also continue to provide printed copies of Wise Owl Feathers, our magazine for adults with PWS, which we know is highly valued by its readers. There are no plans to change this or to move to 'online only', as this would significantly reduce accessibility for many adults living in a residential setting. 


We will also be changing our PWS Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter to monthly, as feedback from our community suggests that weekly is too frequent and can sometimes mean too much repetition. A monthly email update will mean quality over quantity.

 

We would like to know how these plans will impact on you. Will going digital affect your ability to access PWS News? If so, please let us know by emailing admin@pwsa.co.uk, or calling 01332 365676, or writing to us at PWSA UK, c/o Metcalf’s Commercial Decorators, 3 Deer Park Road, Moulton Park, Northampton, NN3 6RX


So, what happens next? Current members don’t need to do anything - your membership will remain in place! If you currently pay for membership by standing order, you may choose to cancel this. However, PWSA UK relies on regular support from the community, so if you wish to continue these payments, or would like to set up a regular gift, then that would be hugely appreciated. 


If you are not yet a member, now is the time to join


Please fill out our GDPR and membership form here, and help shape the future of PWS with us. 

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