What is it like being a club or society in a pandemic?
It has been very difficult being a society through lockdown. Our society’s model was based on being able to informally meet in cafes or on walks, either in 1:1 meet ups or in groups. Also, as Type 1 Diabetes is quite rare, we often found members literally by bumping into people on campus who were testing their blood glucose levels, so we have really lost a lot of the serendipity our society thrived on.
Has your group adapted well or are you worried about its future?
We have a Facebook group and an informal chat to keep us connected during lockdown, but I have had to take some time out for mental health reasons and have therefore not been able to organise any online socials.
I’m hoping to turn that around and find people who can help me kick-start our society again, as it was such an incredible experience to meet other students with the same health condition. Insulin Army means the world to me, and I am determined to keep it going so many more students in future can benefit from the group!
How do you think clubs and societies help people make friends?
What I love about societies is how the shared interest in a topic makes it really easy to connect with people and make friends. This couldn’t be more accurate for Insulin Army; Type 1 Diabetes has such a massive impact on your day to day life, so it can be a real relief to meet others who share the same experience as you!
We have some fantastic members who have volunteered with Diabetes UK, JDRF, or have written advocacy blogs, but not everyone is involved in charities and that is 100% fine too. The main thing is being able to chat candidly about diabetes, and be able to mention things like ‘hypers’ or discuss favourite hypo snacks without having to explain what a hypo/hyper is.
How can people get involved with your club/society?
The best way to get involved is to join our Facebook group (Insulin Army) and if you are interested in helping to advocate for us or organise online meet-ups, I would love to hear from you – you can DM me (Rebecca B-Noone) or make a post in our group. Another great way to help is to spread the word and let anyone you know with type 1 diabetes about us.
