Cancer Society Greater Wellington

Nau mai, hoki mai (welcome back) to our schools starting Term 3 today! 🏫

➡️ If your school hasn't already registered to celebrate Daffodil Day this August, there's still time. Register by THIS WEDNESDAY 24 July and we'll deliver your resources straight to you - no hassle!

We love to see our tamariki (children) and rangatahi (young people) deck out in yellow for Daffodil Day. Not only is it a fantastic opportunity to do something together as a school, but it's also helping those affected by cancer in your communities. 💛💙

Register now ➡️ daffodilday.org.nz/atschool

📣 Calling our Porirua whānau!

Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira are running a Reimagining Workshop this Tuesday 23 July for people diagnosed or living with cancer. 💛💙

If you have been diagnosed or living with cancer, reside in Porirua and are interested in making a change to our health system, please send an email with your contact details to [email protected]

Our Porirua Te Puna Aroha team, Tiara and Gillian, together with our new Cancer Information Nurse, Grace, had the great privilege of spending some time with Janie Walker in her BeCalmed Studio in Titahi Bay. 💛💙

“We had heard great things about Janie’s relaxation and breath classes from some of our clients, so we asked Janie for a chance to meet her and see her studio.

“Janie offered us the opportunity to take part in some relaxation. We jumped at this chance and had an hour of bliss! Janie’s studio, surrounded by native bush, was peaceful and calming and her teaching was just beautiful. She used a combination of gentle yoga poses, breath work and some guided visualisation. We loved the session and the way Janie taught it. She was warm, genuine and respectful, and we didn’t once have to try a downward facing dog or lotus position!”

We highly recommend Janie’s classes for anyone who wants to discover more peace, calm and relaxation. You can find out more and contact Janie here ➡️ www.becalmedstudio.com

Is your business registered to celebrate Daffodil Day this August? It's all about partnering with us for progress against cancer. 💛💙

➡️ Head to daffodilday.org.nz/atwork to sign up.

Be sure to let us know what you're up to and tag us when you post about it. We LOVE to see your teams dressed in yellow, your yellow window displays, yellow morning teas and more. It warms our (yellow) hearts. 💛

📣 We are so excited to announce that the team at New Zealand Couriers Wellington have signed on to deliver our fresh daffodils this Daffodil Day! Thank you, New Zealand Couriers, we are so grateful for your help and support. ❤️💛💙

Fresh daffodils are available to order until Thursday 8 August 2024. Get in there quick and brighten up your homes, offices and workplaces this Daffodil Day ➡️ https://bit.ly/fresh-daffodils-wellington

Meet our newest Kāpiti Support Centre volunteer, Maddie!

Maddie's been making some delicious baking for us and has recorded radio commercials for Dry July and Daffodil Day on Beach FM. Thank you to Darren Mills who's been teaching Maddie how to do radio commercials. 📻

Currently a Year 12 student, Maddie enjoys dancing and plans on studying journalism and communications after college. 💃🏻📰

Welcome to the team Maddie, we're so happy to have you! 💛💙

So great to have our first Get Active class on Friday at Arena Fitness Porirua led by the fabulous Amy Carter. 💛💙

It was a great opportunity to explore some gentle exercise and movement with Amy at the helm, providing lots of options and encouragement to our participants.

Our team went away feeling good with a sense of accomplishment.

Get Active runs every Friday from 12pm – 1pm at Te Rauparaha Arena. To register or find out more contact [email protected] or 027 239 5530.

A huge thanks to Amy, Arena Fitness and Hutt Mana Charitable Trust for making this happen!

A big thank you to One Foundation Limited for supporting the ongoing work of our Cancer Information Nurses. 💛💙

Our Wellington-based nurses offer one-on-one support, health information, referrals to counsellors, and information about Cancer Society services and support.

📞 During the 2023/24 financial year, our nurses responded to almost 5,800 Cancer Information Helpline enquiries.

Learn more about 0800 CANCER (226 237) here ➡️ https://bit.ly/0800Cancer

Mānawatia a Matariki! ✨

As Matariki, the Māori New Year, comes back around, we at the Cancer Society are looking forward to spending quality time and sharing kai with our friends and whānau.

This year’s theme, Matariki Heri Kai, celebrates the food of Aotearoa New Zealand and prompts us to reflect on how we protect the environment it comes from. Our thoughts are also with our loved ones who have passed, as we take the time to cherish those who are still with us. 💛💙

With the wonderful, continued support of Four Winds Foundation, our Driving Service Coordinators arranged regular drives for our clients to and from their oncology appointments.

So many of our clients don’t have regular, reliable transport options to get to treatment. With our coordinators and volunteer drivers help, our clients can get to their appointments safely and on time.

Already this financial year, our drivers have travelled over 33,000km around the Greater Wellington area with their passengers.

For more information about our driving service, visit ➡️ https://www.cancer.org.nz/how-we-can-help/support-we-offer/transport-to-treatment-our-drivers/

Yesterday the government announced a landmark investment of $604m to go towards life-saving cancer drugs over the next four years.

We know that this news will bring a lot of joy and hope to those who have been waiting patiently for Aotearoa New Zealand to join the rest of the world in modern healthcare. This achievement could not have been possible without your voices and your advocacy. 💛💙

⬇️ Read more about the announcement below.

Transformative investment in cancer treatments and more new medicines The coalition Government is delivering up to 26 cancer treatments as part of an overall package of up to 54 more new medicines.

With the support of Hutt Mana Charitable Trust, we're able to offer Get Active - our new 40-week regular exercise programme for people with cancer at Te Rauparaha Arena in the Porirua hapori (community).

Movement and physical exercise is essential in cancer recovery, before, during and after cancer treatment. Exercise has the added benefit of strengthening brain and body connections, supporting our overall wellbeing. 💛💙

➡️ Interested in attending Get Active? Flick us a message to register your interest, or call Gillian on 04 495 4652.

And that’s a wrap on National Volunteer Week 2024! ✔️🎉

From our staff to you, our volunteers, ngā mihi nui. While a week could never be enough to express our gratitude and appreciation for our volunteers, we wanted to use this final opportunity to say a great, big, huge THANK YOU! 👏🏽

Together, we’re doing everything we can to support those affected by cancer in our communities. 💛💙

As we start to wrap up National Volunteer Week 2024, we wanted to switch gears a little and introduce the team behind the volunteers – (most of) our amazing Volunteering Team. 🥰🫶🏽

This incredible group are responsible for coordinating all our volunteers at every call for help. With the help of our generous, incredible volunteers, this team puts in the hard mahi to make sure that wherever we can help, we do. 👏🏽

This dedicated team treats our volunteers like whānau, we couldn't do what we do without them. 💛💙

🔦 Next up, meet our Oncology Ward volunteers.

This group of dedicated volunteers spend their time helping out wherever they can in the Oncology Ward at Wellington Regional Hospital. 🏥

Whether it’s being there to lend a listening ear, fetching a cup of tea, our Oncology Hosts are there to provide comfort to people having cancer treatment every day. 💛💙

Combined, our transport to treatment driving volunteers have driven 174,310km in the last year. 🚗

Our volunteer drivers are up and at ‘em every day, driving from all over Greater Wellington to get people facing to life-saving treatment.

This incredible group of volunteers will pick clients up from as far as Kāpiti, take them to treatment, wait for them to finish and then take them safely back home. 🏠🏥

There are so many people who rely on our transport to treatment service. Without our driving service volunteers, we wouldn’t be able to help those who need us. 💛💙

It takes a village to do the work that we do. In Kāpiti and in Newtown, we have volunteer receptionists who help us manage our front desks every week.

They are the smiling faces you see when you walk through the door, and they’re always willing to go the extra mile to help everyone that comes in to access our services. 😊

We couldn’t do this without them. 💛💙

🎉Happy National Volunteering Week! 🎉

🔦 Our first spotlight is on our event volunteers.

It takes a huge amount of people to run events like Relay For Life, Daffodil Day or Scooter Safari. Without our volunteers giving us their time and energy, we would not be able to put together the events that you all love to get behind. 🏃🏽‍🌻🛵

From our track marshals to our candle bag supervisors to our street collectors to our site coordinators, thank you! 💛💙

It's Men's Health Week!

In Aotearoa New Zealand, men are less likely to go and see their doctors for health concerns. We encourage you to use this week as a reminder to go and see your healthcare professionals, even if your concerns are small.

If you're facing a prostate cancer diagnosis, we can help. Every month, we run a PALS: Prostate Cancer Support Group in partnership with Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand. 🤝🏽

This support group is a fantastic opportunity for those who have had a prostate cancer diagnosis to discuss common issues, get advice and connect with others on a similar journey. 💛💙

➡️ Flick us a message for more info or call us on 0800 CANCER (226 237).

📢 An update on Lindsay Gault's 11,000km bike ride! 🚴🏼

Lindsay has been on the road for close to three weeks now, travelling roughly 1,500km. While the start of his incredible bike ride hasn't been easy, Lindsay has been leaning into the generosity and kindness of the locals he's met along the way.

For those of you just catching up, Lindsay kicked off an incredible 11,000km bike ride from China to Greece last month, raising funds to go towards cancer research in Aotearoa New Zealand. 💛💙

Read more about his why in our interview with him below. ⬇️

Lindsay Gault's 11,000 bike ride for cancer - Cancer Society NZ From China to Greece, Lindsay Gault is undertaking an 11,000-kilometre bike ride to raise money for cancer research in New Zealand.

📢 We're running our first Get Active exercise programme out in the Porirua hapori at Te Rauparaha Arena starting on the 5th of July. 💛💙

🏃🏽‍♀️ These free weekly exercise classes are a great opportunity for those living with cancer to get active in a comfortable way, connect with their community and have fun together.

➡️ Interested in attending? Flick us a message to register your interest, or call Gillian on 04 495 4652.

📢 National Volunteering Week is coming!

Every year, we spend a dedicated week celebrating our volunteers and the important mahi that they do. We couldn’t do what we do without them. 💛💙

Over the next week, you’ll hear about some of our amazing volunteers and all that they do for us. Who knows? Maybe it’ll convince you to volunteer… 😉

We recently held a CanBead workshop out at our Kāpiti Support Centre for those impacted by cancer in the community.

CanBead is a chance for participants to unwind, relax and use their hands to create something beautiful. Workshops like these are a fantastic opportunity to not only express your inner creative, but to also connect with others on a similar journey at the same time. 💛💙

Want to join our next CanBead? Flick us a message!

Wellington! Daffodil Day is coming and we're looking for Volunteer Area Coordinators to help us run our biggest street appeal of the year. 💛💙

📋 Our Area Coordinators are responsible for the scheduling and running of their own collection sites on Daffodil Day in August. You can do it with your friends, your colleagues or your family - bring your community together!

💛 Are you interested in becoming one of our incredible volunteers this Daffodil Day? Fill in the form on our Daffodil Day website or flick us a message to find out more! ⬇️

Daffodil Day Area Coordinator Are you a fantastic organiser and love talking to people? We are looking for people to coordinate collections in the following locations: Miramar, Newtown, Island Bay, Johnsonville Willis St, Cuba St/Manners st, Courtenay Place, Lambton Quay, Lower Hutt, Petone Porirua New world, Kilbirnie, Croften....

3... 2... 1... JUMP! 🪂

We recently went up to Taupō with a group of thrill-seekers to jump out of an airplane for cancer. A huge thank you to everyone who did Jump For Cancer for us and to Taupo Tandem Skydiving for partnering with us.

Skydiving is not an easy thing to do, and to have so many of you raise funds for us at the same time is just incredible. With your help, we raised over $7,000 to go towards supporting people affected by cancer in YOUR communities. 💛💙

Earlier this week, Robin Clarke received a King's Service Medal for Community Service. 🥇

Robin has been giving back to her community since the 1970s. Within her community work, she has been a Cancer Society Greater Wellington volunteer for 15 years.

Notably, she continued to provide crucial transport to treatment services throughout Covid-19 lockdowns, ensuring that those needing cancer treatment in her community were able to get to their appointments and safely back home during a time of increased uncertainty and stress.

Congratulations Robin, and thank you so very much for your service! 💛💙

Waikanae woman honoured with medal for decades of community service Robin Clarke has been doing work in the community since the 1970s.

We've been looking at how we share what we do with you on social media.

We want to make sure our supporters are seeing what they want to see on here, and that means closing some of our other existing accounts so you don't get too much of the same content from us on multiple accounts.

This account is now Cancer Society Greater Wellington. We'll still be covering Cancer Society content for Wellington, Porirua, Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt, but we'll also be showing you Kāpiti and Margaret Stewart House content. 💛💙

Thank you so much Upper Hutt City Council, for helping us fund our Relay For Life’s marquee costs earlier this year.

Relay is an overnight event, run in rain or shine. Marquees allow a space for our participants to rest, socialise and keep their belongings safe throughout the vent.

With the Council’s help, we kept our costs down, so more of the funds raised will help us continue supporting more people affected by cancer in our community. 💛💙