Call for volunteers for Daffodil Day
Ahead of Daffodil Day on Friday, March 28 next, The Irish Cancer Society is calling for volunteers to help out in the Athlone area.
Speaking at the launch of Daffodil Day, Moate native John McCormack who is CEO of the Irish Cancer Society said we won’t give up until cancer does and we need the public to stand beside us in this audacious statement of intent.
“Together we can beat cancer and Daffodil Day is just one way the people of Westmeath can join us in trying to make this vision a reality. So we ask people to join us again this year and to volunteer to help out on Daffodil Day – do what you can to make a difference.”
Mr McCormack thanked volunteers in Athlone and all over Westmeath who are vital to making Daffodil Day a success in their communities.
“For the last 27 years they have been the lifeblood of our organisation and their continued support keeps our services going. We are also very grateful to our partner, Dell. The Dell team has helped us deliver Daffodil Day for the last four years and the support that it brings is invaluable. We look forward to working with them again this year,” he continued.
Last year, Daffodil Day, traditionally the society’s biggest fundraiser, was hit badly by severe rain impacting the charity’s income for Daffodil Day.
Mark Mellett, Head of Fundraising, Irish Cancer Society said Daffodil Day certainly made a splash last year – unfortunately for all the wrong reasons. While our volunteers and collectors braved the elements, the severe conditions kept many indoors.
“This year we hope for sunnier skies but as there are no guarantees we have done our best to waterproof our plans - with new indoor collection locations, a national bag pack in Tesco stores, coffee mornings and an online app created by Dell as well as lots of other indoor activities to stand alongside the outdoor collections we are ensuring that there are lots of ways that people can donate.”
Funds raised on Daffodil Day by thousands of volunteers across Ireland go directly to fund the work of the Society across research, services and advocacy. Night Nursing is one service funded by Daffodil Day. It is a national service available to people with cancer who are seriously ill at home.
The aim of the service is to provide extra support for the person who is ill and wishes to remain at home being cared for by their family. The Irish Cancer Society Night Nurses are provided free of charge for up to 10 nights. In 2013, 204 nights of care were provided to 45 patients in Westmeath.
It’s vital that Daffodil Day reaches its ambitious fundraising target of €3.45million in order to continue to provide and expand this service and others. Unfortunately, one in three of us will be diagnosed with cancer and as cancer incidence increases so does demand on the services of the Irish Cancer Society.
Most recent data from the National Cancer Registry shows that 34,798 people were diagnosed with cancer in 2011,665 of those were in Westmeath. The Society and Dell, lead partner for Daffodil Day, are calling on the public to help support the campaign on Friday 28th March and ask people to volunteer, organise or donate on CallSave 1850 60 60 60 or visit www.cancer.ie/daffodilday.
For more information on how you can get involved, Callsave 1850 60 60 60 or visit www.cancer.ie/daffodilday