Daffodil Day supporters raising money for cancer services

Every 15 minutes someone hears the words ‘you have cancer’. Irish Cancer Society appeal for public support on Daffodil Day 11 March

News Article | 15 Jan 2016

Dell, lead partner for Daffodil Day, calls on everyone to help make this the biggest campaign ever

The Irish Cancer Society, with lead partner Dell, launched Daffodil Day 2016 today at an event in Croke Park attended by volunteers from across the country who make Daffodil Day happen in their local community. Daffodil Day will take place on Friday March 11th 2016 and the Society is delighted that it will be rolling out the campaign with its lead partner Dell. This year marks the 29th Daffodil Day, Ireland’s longest running and biggest fundraising day.

Today the Society confirmed an increasing demand for its services as cancer incidence grows – increasing the need for the public to support Daffodil Day so they can support those affected by cancer in Ireland.

Speaking at the launch of Daffodil Day, Mark Mellett, Head of Fundraising, Irish Cancer Society said, “Every family in Ireland is touched by cancer, it is startling to think of how prevalent cancer is and how many families are impacted by those three words – you have cancer. Thankfully our network of volunteers are coming together once again to ensure that Daffodil Day is a success and that we can continue to fund our nationwide services – like Night Nursing. As cancer is increasing so are our efforts to fight it. As the national cancer charity we are working hard to meet the increased demand for help as more people get and survive cancer we need to raise even more money this year on Daffodil Day.”

Funds raised on Daffodil Day by thousands of volunteers across Ireland go directly to fund the work of the Society across support, prevention, research and advocacy. Night Nursing is one service funded by Daffodil Day. Last year the Society was able to fulfil 95 per cent of requests for a night nurse. The Irish Cancer Society provides the only night time care service for cancer patients in their own homes. In 2015 the Society’s nurses provided 7,956 nights of care to over 1,940 patients and this service is fully funded by the people of Ireland who consistently support the work of the Society.

Mr Mellett continued, “We need the support of everyone in Ireland to make this possible. We need people to volunteer for Daffodil Day – volunteer with your family, your friends, your neighbours and sell daffodils.

We need every person in Ireland to join us in this fight. We still have some way to go to fully support patients who will die from their cancer. We won’t give up until we reach that future without cancer – and I know the Irish public won’t either.”

It’s vital that Daffodil Day reaches its ambitious fundraising target of €3.5 million in order to continue to provide and expand this service and others. The Society and Dell, lead partner for Daffodil Day, are calling on the public to help support the campaign on Friday 11 March and ask people to volunteer, organise or donate on CallSave 1850 60 60 60 or visit www.cancer.ie/daffodilday.

Also speaking at the launch, Niamh Townsend, General Manager, Dell Ireland said, “Dell is proud to support Daffodil Day, one of the most important fundraising events that takes place in Ireland each year. Our team of more than 2,000 people working in Limerick, Cork and Dublin support Daffodil Day through volunteering and fundraising activities and by sharing their technical expertise with the Irish Cancer Society. We are looking forward to continuing to work with the Society to help make this year’s campaign more successful than ever before.”

The Irish Cancer Society’s 29th Daffodil Day, supported by Dell, will take place across the country on Friday 11 March.

Here is how you can support Daffodil Day 2016: