I spend so much of my time fretting about underwear for various appointments that it only seems right to keep with the theme.
I tend to go to London a lot & when I am there we go on the tube. Tube Logistics are either handled by my Aunt (a local)…or The Mr (a fearless master of navigation *wink*) whilst I hold the hands of The Little People. I can get myself anywhere without breaking into a sweat when I am in my car, but as soon as that bizarre map appears with coloured lines all over it & barriers & signs saying Northbound X line or Eastbound Y line I look around for “grown-ups”….Cue the Big Girl Pants….but I did it……all by myself….successfully….Cue silly happy dance!
I went to London to meet the British Skin Foundation IT7 team I have been hinting a bit about over the last few weeks.
The British Skin Foundation is a renowned national charity dedicated to funding treatments and generally raising awareness of skin diseases. They have been getting increasingly concerned with the alarming rate of increase of Skin Cancer combined with a massive lack of awareness.
I am quite cynical when it comes to charities…..there are so many…where does the money really go.
I wanted a Melanoma Charity to support where the money raised would go to the thing that matters most to me…a cure. It needed it to be a big enough charity…with a reputation & reach to make a significant enough difference.
But I wanted my money to go towards research and awareness…not paying for lavish events or hugely expensive advertising campaigns.
The British Skin Foundation are the charitable arm of the British Association of Dermatology…so they are totally unique as a charity – there are absolutely no overheads. No monthly costs coming out of money raised through fundraising – 100% of the money raised gets directed straight to research.
So I reached out and was welcomed by a team within BSF that had been tasked with creating a charity specific to Skin Cancer.
They had seen my Blog!!
They thought I would be a great person to involve in their project…discussing Skin Cancer & its impact to create the bones of a campaign. Which has been done & it looks amazing!
My role yesterday was to be interviewed on Camera discussing Skin Cancer and the impact that it…specifically Melanoma has had on my life.
The video they filmed will then be edited and combined with the videos of 3 others to create a campaign film and several shorter clips for the Website, for national press release and for online media tools.
This is where I get excited…not because of being on film & having my face seen by millions or because of being so publicly linked to this campaign to raise awareness about Skin Cancer.
I am excited because of the way we are doing this.
You see the campaign has a massive message.
It Takes Seven.
7
There are 7 people that die from Skin Cancer in this country alone every single day.
That figure is so important. It is so wrong. How can there be that many people dying every day from something and it be so unheard of & undiscussed. Why is there no Cure…. What can be done?
So IT7 takes that number and says…..”let’s change this”.
Let’s get everyone to grab a team of 7 friends or family and get them to do stuff…fun stuff…active stuff….good for your body & soul stuff….. to fundraise.
Let’s not bother with organised events where we have to pay people, or expensive TV advertising or branded posters that all cost tens of thousands. Let’s make social media work the way it should do. You tell your friend who tells theirs…we share…online. We gather up a storm of interested people.
No advertising. No Expenses. No cost centre.
What you raise…..literally everything goes to Skin Cancer & Melanoma Research.
I don’t need an expensive campaign to make a difference….in 6 short months with your help my blog is now read by over 1,000 people. I haven’t advertised…I have just shared my story to you & you have shared it with your friends.
Melanoma Patients are used to fighting our own battles…there is so little out there for us, that do our own research…challenge the system…fight……to live.
So now we turn that energy…that hope….that stubborn optimism into action.
Join me…join my team….let’s make a difference to Melanoma.