George Pepper
CEO
Cast your mind back to 2009 and you may remember it as a year of new beginnings. Barack Obama became President, Bitcoin was launched and Shift.ms came into being. Whilst we could argue over the hierarchical importance of those events, Shift.ms has stood the test of time and 14 years later, our digital community has grown to over 50,000 members.
When I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of 22, I found it difficult to find ‘my people’ – other people with MS (MSers) who I could relate to. Shift.ms was created to embrace a global community of individuals, all facing the same challenge of living with MS, but in vastly different ways.
Now, over a decade has passed and the strength and vitality of Shift.ms has only grown. Reaching 50,000+ members is an astounding milestone, but what’s really amazing is the depth and value of lived experience that is accessible within Shift.ms. Every MSer is different and every journey shared is a story that can inform, comfort and inspire other MSers.
I want to thank every member who joined Shift.ms and shared an insight into how they live with MS. Shift.ms wouldn’t exist without you.
George Pepper, CEO and co-founder
Shift.ms is the digital community for people with multiple sclerosis (MSers).
A diagnosis of multiple sclerosis is life-changing. It usually strikes in the prime of your life. The impact on an MSer’s physical and emotional health is profound, even traumatic. At a time when urgent decisions need to be made, people with MS can feel isolated and uncertain.
Founded by MSers, for MSers, Shift.ms offers social and emotional support, and inspires MSers to take charge of their health as soon as possible after diagnosis. It’s independent and it’s free.
We asked our members how being part of the Shift.ms community has impacted them:
Shift.ms champions MSers at every level of our community. This is so the MS experience is lived and represented through our staff team, trustees and volunteers.
Over the years 2,193 volunteers – Buddies, bloggers, film participants, social media hosts, ambassadors and Trustees – have supported Shift.ms and the MS community. Their contribution, regardless of size, has helped us to become the organisation we are today and will continue to influence how we develop in the future. It takes a very special person who’s willing to offer their time and share their experiences to improve the lives of newly diagnosed MSers, who they may never meet. A humongous thank you goes out to every person involved in our work.
- Subira, UK
Our mission to support and empower MSers to manage their MS isn’t over yet. While we’ve reached over 50,000 members, there are still hundreds of thousands of MSers in the world who could benefit from the Shift.ms community.
Over the next two years, we’re continuing to expand our reach across the globe as well as investing in the development of the Shift.ms platform so it’s even more brilliant at supporting MSers’ journeys.
We strongly believe that MS should be treated with urgency and that MSers’ can play a crucial, proactive role in managing their diagnosis. You’ll hear us speak about this a lot because the times they are a-changin’, and the past “we’ll see how things go” approach is no longer fit for purpose.
Watch the first episode of ‘Me, Myself and I’, a video series all about MSers sharing their raw experiences of managing the intense, and sometimes unexpected, emotions that MS can cause.
In this video, Shereena talks about diagnosis, social isolation and shares advice on how she coped with it all.