Become a Community Champion
Bladder cancer patients and their carers are at the heart of every aspect of our work. We were founded by and now are run by bladder cancer patients and carers. Could you join our team as a volunteer Community Champion to help grow our work?
We need volunteers who can:
- help spread the word about the disease
- help influence others and build support for our cause
- share experiences and opinions to help influence policy and decision makers
- contribute to research and surveys.
Some tasks are quick and easy. Others need a longer commitment.
What’s involved
Could you spread awareness of bladder cancer in your community? Do you enjoy meeting people and sharing stories? Are you passionate about helping people?
Our small staff team can only reach so many people. We need help from you – our friends and supporters – to spread awareness about bladder cancer, raise funds and increase our reach.
As an official community-based volunteer – a ‘Community Champion’, you’ll help us to achieve these goals. The role has three functions:
- To help raise awareness about bladder cancer and the early signs and symptoms, to spread knowledge and save lives.
- To raise awareness of Fight Bladder Cancer and the services we offer to people affected by bladder cancer, as well as the resources we can share with medical professionals, GP surgeries and hospitals.
- To build friends and connections for Fight Bladder Cancer and ultimately help to raise funds for the charity’s work.
The activities are varied and might include attending events and talking about FBC’s work, delivering posters and information to local GP surgeries, encouraging others to get involved in fundraising activity. All of this is vital work to help share messages about early diagnosis, reach new patients who are dealing with bladder cancer, encourage further involvement, build community networks, and inspire new activity.
The network of Community Champions meet via Zoom once a month for a fun catch up and update. Everyone brings something different – different skills, interests and contacts. Everyone is welcome. Training, resources, and support will also be given by the Fight Bladder Cancer team.
“How to…” guides
Have your own coffee morning/cake sale
A coffee morning is an easy and fantastic way to raise awareness and funds for bladder cancer whilst also a great excuse to eat as much cake as you’d like! All you have to do is choose a date, let us know about the morning and invite your friends to come along!
We have a free coffee morning kit for you to help make the table as orange as possible. We can also send you a collection bucket, help you set up a fundraising page and design you a personalised poster. We even have Fight Bladder Cancer cake topper stickers!
Once you’ve got the word out to your friends, it’s time to get baking! Why not take inspiration from the lovely team at Liverpool University Hospital and have an orange theme? You could ask your friends to bring an orange cake each!
Organise a fundraiser
We understand that organising a fundraising event sounds like a monumental task, so let us help you make it as easy as possible! If you would like to hold a fundraiser to aid in Fight Bladder Cancer, thank you so much. It’s a fab way of raising awareness within your community, and you can get friends and family to give you a hand easily. We’ve even gone ahead and created a checklist for you to make sure that you do not forget anything important!
Please get in touch with us if you love the idea of organising one but have no idea where to start; we’re here to help and will walk you through the process.
Present to your local club/chat to your friends
Are you part of any clubs or groups? Why not tell them a little bit about your experience being a patient and why raising awareness for bladder cancer is so important to you? If you get in touch with us, we can send you a presentation, have our CEO write a speech for you to read, and send a variety of our materials. We can also connect you to our local network of Community Champions and see if they can come and present with you too!
We can work together to find a way to present that you feel most comfortable with. Don’t like public speaking? No problem! We can send a personalised video and ready-made speech for you to show instead. Just let us know.
Here are some organisations we’ve previously presented to:
- Women’s Institute
- U3A
- Sports clubs
- Church groups
Organise a pub quiz night
Fancy getting quizzical for Fight Bladder Cancer? Whether you are a knowledge buff or want to get a group of friends together for a fun night at your local pub, quiz nights can be fun and easy to organise.
We can provide you with ideas on sourcing questions for an evening of fun, as well as top tips and lots of support to help you raise whatever you can to support those with bladder cancer, as well as resources to make your event look the part! If you don’t fancy doing it at the pub- you could always host one at home, work or with a local group you are part of.
Approach local organisations
Could you be a voice within your community to support Fight Bladder Cancer? There are many ways organisations in your community can help Fight Bladder Cancer. Whether holding a bucket collection in your local supermarket or asking your GP to put up awareness posters – every conversation counts, as does every action you take to help raise awareness and funds for Fight Bladder Cancer.
Get in touch with us for more ideas on how you can support and for free resources.
Sid’s story
“I’m enjoying getting to know other patients and work together to help the charity. I found I’ve developed a surprising amount of confidence to share my story, knock on new doors (virtually) and spread the word about bladder cancer. I’ve even managed to help get an article in my trade-union magazine, which I’m thrilled about. It is such an under-prioritised disease and I really want to help change this.”
Sid, patient and community champion, Lincolnshire
Community Champion F&Q's
Let's break some myths around what it takes to be a community champion!
“I need to spend hours and hours being a champion”
No, it is completely up to you how much time you can give. We understand life is busy and you will have other commitments and we absolutely appreciate every minute that is given to support our work.
“I need to have fundraised already in my community”
Our friendly team is on hand to support you every step of the way. We can chat through any ideas, provide some fundraising tips as well as free resources. Becoming a Community Champion is also a great way to learn new skills or gain new experiences.
“I need to be able to raise lots of money or hold large events”
Every conversation counts in the Fight against Bladder Cancer- whether that is putting up a poster in your local GP surgery, displaying a FBC sticker on your car, having a conversation with a friend on the early signs of Bladder Cancer or raising £20 from a bake sale- you have the power to make a real difference today and tomorrow!
“I want to help but I am not sure how”
Don’t worry if you are not sure yet on how you would like to support. We are on hand to support! We can chat through with you what you enjoy doing and are comfortable with and provide you with some ideas and tips to help get you started. We can even connect you with other FBC Champions for inspiration and community.
“I would like to help but am not in a position to just now”
Our Community Champions month may be in September, but you can become a Community Champion whenever you like!
Join the team
Will you join in with the fun? If you have a few hours to spare each month time and can fit the role around your work and other commitments, we’d love to hear from you.
If this is something you’re interested in and you’d like to hear more about please email Amy, our supporter care and community engagement officer at champions@fightbladdercancer.co.uk
Downloads
To see a full set of our downloads please see our Downloads page.
Get in touch
We’ve tried to make the information on this site as accurate as possible. Whilst we have support from medical professionals to review the general medical content of this site, please remember that only your medical team can give you specific advice about your symptoms or illness. Fight Bladder Cancer is a registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation in Scotland (SC051881), England and Wales (1198773), and was initially established as an unincorporated charity in England and Wales (1157763). It also operates in Northern Ireland.