A charity is calling on people to ensure cancer patients don’t suffer alone by sparing time to raise awareness and boost fundraising.
Macmillan Cancer Support is looking for people in the March and Chatteris areas to support the charity in a range of volunteering roles on a regular or ad hoc basis.
Whether you’re a group of friends who would love to organise an event, or an individual who would like to help out at collections, the charity would love to hear from you.
Jessica Levin, fundraising manager for Cambridgeshire, said: “Macmillan is such a worthwhile cause and people really do have a lot of fun volunteering for us in the community. It’s also a great chance to add skills to your CV.
“So, if there is anyone out there who has a few hours to spare and would like to get involved, we would love to hear from them to tell them more about the opportunities available, which suit all kinds of people with different backgrounds.
“We would love to hear from anyone who has time, whether it’s a couple of hours a year or a week, it doesn’t matter, we just need extra help.”
The charity supports people in the county who have been affected by cancer in a number of ways, from funding local nurses to providing essential financial, emotional, medical and practical help to cancer patients and their families.
Miss Levin said around 4,000 people in Cambridgeshire are diagnosed with cancer each year and Macmillan aims to support the cancer patient and their friends and family, too.
She said: “Cancer can be an incredibly lonely experience.
“The charity is trying to make sure no one faces it alone by aiming to be there for as many people affected by the condition as possible, but it needs more support from people who have some time to spare to help make this a reality.”
Macmillan has a variety of volunteering opportunities available, suiting various time commitments and skills.
Some examples include:
• Public collections volunteers – sparing just one or two hours taking part in local collections helps raise awareness as well as much-needed funds.
• Events volunteers – organise your own events such as a coffee morning, ball, art exhibition or car boot sale, or alternatively, help support already organised events, such as helping with a World’s Biggest Coffee Morning event or being a marshal at a sponsored walk.
• Macmillan fundraising group members – join a local group or get a group together to organise your own events and help in the community.
• Macmillan representatives – assist with activities in your area, such as servicing collecting tins, co-ordinating public collections, distributing promotional leaflets and giving talks.
• Macmillan ambassadors – do you have contacts, a business background and a little time to spare? Then this could be the role for you. Whether you’re retired or in employment, whatever your circumstances, Macmillan needs people like you to help it network effectively to enable it to raise more money.
• Volunteer co-ordinators – recruiting further volunteers and helping to co-ordinate their activities. A vital role for the future development of fundraising in the county.
All of the roles listed are unpaid, however, Macmillan does cover expenses.
For more information contact Miss Levin on 07894 566 608 or email: jlevin@macmillan.org.uk
For cancer information and support, contact the Macmillan Support Line on 0808 808 0000 or log on to www.macmillan.org.ukp