The Cancer Society needs your support this Daffodil Day to help New Zealand beat cancer together.
On Friday 31 August around 12,000 volunteers around the country, including many from throughout Otago and Southland will take to the shops, businesses, schools and streets as part of New Zealand’s largest street appeal.
Every dollar dropped into collection buckets, every raffle bought at a quiz evening, slice of cake bought at a bake sale, or duck bought to race through the Clutha river will be spent on assisting New Zealanders with all types of cancer, and help prevent future cancers through vital research and world leading health promotion. And in Otago and Southland, every dollar raised in the region stays in the region.
Now in its 28th year, Daffodil Day raises awareness of cancer and is the biggest generator of funds for the Cancer Society.
This year, over $2.5 million dollars is needed to meet a demand that is growing in Otago and Southland, with the Cancer Society working with double the amount of clients than five years ago.
The daffodil is one of the first flowers of the spring season and with its bright yellow bloom represents hope for the one in three New Zealanders affected by cancer each year.
When someone hears they or a loved one has cancer it is devastating, and the impact of a diagnosis can be far reaching.
There are often so many unanswered questions and so much to consider that it can be overwhelming.
It might be how they will get to hospital, whether they will stay during treatment or advice on the amount of information and decisions that need to be made, some of them very quickly.
Thanks to the generosity of New Zealanders on Daffodil Day, this is where the Cancer Society can step up, with practical and emotional support.
Yet despite this ceaseless support for patients, their loved ones, and the researchers fighting cancer, the Society receives no direct government funding.
That makes every dollar raised vital in order to help beat cancer.
Ways in which people can support the work of the Cancer Society next week:
- Look out for the fresh or lapel daffodils at a street collection on Friday 31st August
- Pop into a local ANZ branch who have a variety of ways people can support, from bake sales to raffles to Archie the teddy bear
- Donating directly via texting Hope to 336 to make an automatic donation of $3 or going to www.daffodilday.org.nz
- Popping into any regional Mitre 10 and saying “yes” when staff ask if you could like to donate a dollar with your purchase
- Purchasing a bright Daffodil reusable bag through any New World in the South Island
- Looking out on the facebook page https://www.facebook.com/cancersocietyotagosouthland/ for some of the many community and school fundraisers that are going on in our communities
How your support has helped:
Over 500,000 daffodils will arrive at the Cancer Society centres around the country this week to be sold by volunteers and through businesses and community groups to fundraise for the charity.
Pin badges, potted daffodils and Daffodil Day bears will also be sold to raise funds to support the work of the Cancer Society around care, research and health promotion.
Thanks to the community support, in Otago and Southland over the past year, the Cancer Society assisted communities in the following ways:
- Assisted 1,132 clients and their families.
- Daffodil House (accommodation in Dunedin for people traveling to Dunedin for treatment) welcomed guests for 2132 bed nights
- Ran over 200 cancer related workshops and support group sessions.
- Volunteers drove over 21,400 kilometres over the year, taking people to 885 cancer treatment appointments.
- Assisted 204 women with prosthetic services.
- Ensured 93 schools were accredited as SunSmartschools.
- Funded the Cancer Society’s free information service which receives over inquiries through the 0800 CANCER helpline providing over the phone support and advice for cancer patients and their family.
Some numbers
- $2.5 million is needed in Otago and Southland to meet the demand that exists, with the Cancer Society working with double the amount of clients than five years ago
- More people die from cancer every year in New Zealand than through any other cause. In the last decade, there have been over 200,000 cancer diagnoses in New Zealand.
- Every day, 60 people will hear the words “you have cancer”.
- In Otago and Southland there are around 1,500 diagnoses every year meaning more than 5,000 people are directly affected by cancer in our region.
- More than 600 people die of cancer every year in Otago and Southland, around 20 times the road toll for the region.
