By Amy Pereira, PRISMS Board Member
I remember vividly 13 years ago when I was first introduced to PRISMS. Joey was just 15 months when we received his diagnosis and admittedly, I was lost and frantic. As a newly diagnosed parent, my life had become a series of doctor visits, lab testing, therapy sessions, and research. As a way to cope with this new reality, I threw myself into project management mode, ensuring Joey received every service available, saw all the necessary doctors and therapists, and benefited from every local program I could find. It was a lot. And despite my best efforts to make things “better”, I couldn’t shake this feeling that I wasn’t doing enough to make a significant impact on Joey and SMS.
Watching me struggle and unbeknownst to me, my husband reached out to PRISMS to see how they could help. Shortly after, I received a call from Maggie Miller, Founder and Vice President of PRISMS. I will never forget when Maggie called and how calm and supportive she was. She encouraged me to get involved in PRISMS and channel some of my anxiety into helping the greater community. From that moment on I have been an active community member and volunteer.
Over the years I have served on multiple committees, hosted fundraisers, and most recently joined the PRISMS Board. To tell you the truth, being a PRISMS volunteer has been such a blessing. While I am always happy to do my part to help the community, I never realized how therapeutic it would be for me. Not only has it helped me cope with the SMS chaos in my life, but it has introduced me to some of the most amazing people I know. SMS parents and warriors who are doing all they can to better the lives of people with SMS.
PRISMS has so many opportunities to volunteer in big ways and small. We are always looking for people who want to contribute to our programming and mission. You can organize a fundraiser, join a committee, host a local meet-up, use your professional skills to help us generate social media content and raise awareness…you can even write a blog! Who knows, maybe volunteering for PRISMS will help you in your journey like it did me!
If you are interested in volunteering for PRISMS, please visit our webpage here.