“Our son survived meningitis against all the odds. The image of him in a coma will stay with us forever but it motivates us on a daily basis to raise awareness of this terrible illness".
Tony and Marilyn Hines have volunteered for Meningitis Now since 2015. Their son was diagnosed with meningitis when he was six years old and the memory of him battling for his life remains the inspiration for their amazing volunteering.
Tony and Marilyn are passionate about raising awareness of meningitis, especially amongst children and young people who are at the greatest risk of contracting the disease. They became determined to make all the schools in their local area meningitis aware.
Local schools
They regularly go to their local schools to update supplies of signs and symptoms cards and posters, give meningitis awareness talks in assemblies, and to make sure parents and teachers know the importance of disease recognition and rapid response.
Tony and Marilyn are tireless in their pursuit to make more people meningitis conscious - they constantly think about new approaches and formats for information to keep things fresh in people’s minds and to make sure information in their local area is up to date.
Recently, Tony and Marilyn instigated a campaign to ask every sixth form in their county to show a student awareness video in assembly – this was highly successful and an estimated 1,500 students have seen the video and are now more aware of meningitis.
Dedication
The couple have also organised for our ‘Adults Get it Too’ campaign posters to be displayed on 200 buses in the East Midlands area.
Tony & Marilyn’s dedication, persistence and innovation are remarkable and hugely appreciated by everyone at Meningitis Now.
You can help make a difference, today and everyday, by joining us as a volunteer. To find out more about how to get involved please check out our volunteering webpage.
