Your October Volunteering Update

Two female shop volunteers sorting through clothes

We're excited to share Terry's story as part of National Inclusion week below. This week ran at the end of September, and we took the time to celebrate the inclusive culture of our Cancer Research UK stores.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK. It mainly affects women, but men can get it too. We've shared signs and symptoms and other information below.

Stand Up To Cancer season is upon us again, and you may have started decorating your store in line with this. Last year, Trading raised over £1.4m for Stand Up To Cancer! Thank you for your continuous hard work, I can't wait to see what we achieve together this year in aid of this amazing cause.

Together we are beating cancer. Thank you.

 

Julie Byard, Director of Trading

Cancer Research UK

National Inclusion Week: 25 September to 1 October

Spotlight on: Terry

Terry - a volunteer in our Wellington shop

For National Inclusion Week, we marked our commitment to creating an inclusive environment for everyone. People are one of our greatest assets and having a diverse community of volunteers, and an inclusive culture, will allow us to make faster progress in beating cancer. So, the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion work we’re doing as an organisation is as relevant for you as it is for our staff.

We recently spoke to shop volunteer Terry about his experiences of volunteering, and the support he's had. Terry started volunteering in our Wellington shop five years ago to build his social skills, learn new things, and meet people. Terry is autistic and was concerned that this might be a barrier to him volunteering.

Terry said: "I feel part of a team where I feel safe to be me. The team do not make me feel different, but part of a family that are all different in their own ways, and that we all bring something to the shop."

Hear more from Terry

It's time to Stand Up To Cancer again!

Stand Up To Cancer 2023

Stand up to cancer logo

We know that you and your fellow volunteers will be well underway with planning for Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) 2023.

SU2C is a joint national fundraising campaign from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4 which brings the UK together to speed up progress by funding life-saving translational research. Translational research is where we turn academic breakthroughs in the labs into new treatments that will make a real difference for people affected by cancer.

Since 2012, SU2C has raised over £93m in total, funding 64 clinical trials and projects involving over 19,000 cancer patients across the UK. We're delighted to be supporting this vital campaign in-store and across CRUK again this year.

Last year, Trading raised over £1.4m for SU2C! We're so grateful for your incredible commitment and dedication, and can't wait to see what you get up to this year.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Key breast cancer information

Breast cancer icon

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK, with around 56,800 people diagnosed each year (2017-2019).

Breast cancer survival has doubled in the past 50 years. In the early 1970s, 4 in 10 women with breast cancer in the UK survived their disease for 10 years or more. Now, it's predicted that almost 8 in 10 women will survive their disease for at least 10 years.

Common breast cancer signs and symptoms:

  • a new lump or thickening in your breast or armpit

  • a change in size, shape or feel of your breast

  • skin changes in the breast such as puckering, dimpling, a rash or redness of the skin

  • fluid leaking from the nipple in a woman who isn’t pregnant or breastfeeding

  • changes in the position of the nipple

The symptoms listed here are more often caused by other medical conditions. But if you have any of them, or anything else unusual for your body, it is important to talk to your GP. Spotting breast cancer early means treatment is more likely to be successful.

Read more

World Mental Health Day: 10 October

How volunteering could be helping your mental health

Two shop volunteers chatting and laughing in the stock room

Last year we asked our volunteers about their mental health as part of our Volunteer Impact survey.

We found that 74% of all Cancer Research UK volunteers agree that volunteering has helped them to feel better connected to people in their community, and 88% have met more people by getting involved in volunteering.

What's even better news is in our shops specifically, 57% of volunteers say their mental health has improved as a result of volunteering with us.

 

We hope that you've seen an improvement in your wellbeing since volunteering for Cancer Research UK.

As you may know, we’ve recently launched an exciting partnership with the Retail Trust. This means that, as a retail volunteer, you can now access tailored, free and confidential health and wellbeing support if you need it. The Retail Trust wellbeing services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and can provide you with emotional support, financial support and legal guidance by phone on 0808 801 0808.

You can register and access more wellbeing content at the link below.

Visit the Retail Trust

We're here to support you

Thumbs up - this is great!
Thumbs down - this isn't for me.

If you received a link to this information by text message it is because you volunteer in one of our shops. If you’d like to stop receiving text messages from Cancer Research UK, or make changes to how we communicate with you, please contact preferences@cancer.org.uk.