Happy National Volunteering Week!

Volunteers help the Irish Cancer Society in so many ways. To mark the beginning of National Volunteering Week in Ireland, we wanted to pay tribute to the efforts of all our volunteers, all over Ireland.

There are those who give their time so generously to help us provide services to people affected by cancer, those who work tirelessly to help us raise funds to provide those services, those who help out in our offices and shops and those who help to raise awareness of cancer by sharing their stories in the media.

It’s only a few weeks since Daffodil Day when thousands of volunteers braved atrocious weather to help us raise funds for several of our core services, such as Night Nursing, which provides end of life care for cancer patients and their families in their own homes. Without the efforts of thousands of Daffodil Day volunteers, we could not provide this service. Their efforts are hugely appreciated.

Volunteers make our Care to Drive programme possible. These volunteer drivers offer two days a month to drive patients to and from their chemotherapy treatments. Care to Drive only started in 2008 but last year alone over 600 volunteer drivers drove 400 patients on more than 6,000 journeys – a phenomenal achievement!

We also have many volunteers in our Daffodil Centres around the country. They are the face of the Irish Cancer Society in the hospital. Over the last few weeks we’ve opened new Daffodil Centres at the Hermitage Clinic in Dublin and Cork University Hospital, and there are more on the way. The volunteers who help to staff these Daffodil Centres offer much needed information and support to patients and their families. Thank you to all Daffodil Centre volunteers.

Thanks also to all those who volunteer for our Survivorship programme, which offers one-to-one support to newly diagnosed patients. Trained survivors are available nationwide to provide emotional and practical support, so that cancer patients can speak openly to someone who really knows what they’re going through. To everyone involved in the Survivorship programme, thank you. Your contribution is immense.

We also have people around the country who volunteer to be part of our Community Health Education Programme, CHEP. With healthy lifestyle choices it’s possible to reduce your risk of cancer by as much as 50%, and our CHEP Volunteers have been trained to pass this message on to their community through events at shopping centres, community and sports clubs, local societies, women’s and men’s groups and health fairs.

None of these services would be possible without the fantastically generous efforts of our strong, loyal band of fundraisers, without whom the Irish Cancer Society just could not exist. Every year more than 95% of our income comes in the form of voluntary donations from the public, so we rely almost exclusively on the efforts of our fundraisers, who hail from the four corners of Ireland. Your commitment to helping us provide better support and services for those going through a cancer journey is appreciated by everyone, and most importantly, by the patients themselves.

So to all our volunteers, from everyone at the Irish Cancer Society, Happy National Volunteering Week!

Click here for more information on volunteering for the Irish Cancer Society