CWU and Royal Mail boost for men’s health charity
25th June 2012
CWU has welcomed the news that Royal Mail workers have put the UK's leading prostate cancer charity top of the poll in a vote for the company's official Charity of the Year.
Prostate Cancer UK, which campaigns to raise awareness of male cancers and funds research into treatment and prevention initiatives, polled the majority of votes in a shortlist ballot which also included the Alzheimer's Society and children's charity Whizz-Kidz.
The choice of charity has been the subject of joint work between the company and the CWU and, reacting to today's news, the union's deputy general secretary Dave Ward said: "Some 40,000 UK men are diagnosed with Prostate Cancer every year and every hour, one man in the UK dies from it.
"Prostate Cancer UK have been, and continue to fight hard to bring those shocking figures down and many of our members have actively supported these efforts - it's great news that Royal Mail is now fully committed to that fight too."
Dave also praised the work of the other two charities that made it to the shortlist, pointing out: "Whizz-Kidz and Alzheimer's Society both represent hugely important causes too and it's great that Royal Mail have agreed to donate £50,000 to each of them in recognition of their reaching the shortlist."
The new partnership's target is to raise £2 million between now and mid-2014, which will help fund up to 50 specialist prostate cancer nurses, through a series of fundraising initiatives and events, which will be match-funded by Royal Mail.
Company chief executive Moya Greene said: "Royal Mail is delighted to be supporting Prostate Cancer UK as our new Charity of the Year. Our goal is to raise as much as possible for this worthy cause. In addition, by match funding the efforts of our people, penny for penny, we can make a real difference to the very valuable work they do for men and their families affected by prostate cancer, across the UK."
One fund-raising initiative that CWU members have been involved with is the 'Movember moustache movement', in which the union's Eastern Region secretary Paul Moffat has played a leading role.
Paul (pictured with last year's Movember moustache) is one of many union members who grows a sponsored moustache every November to raise funds for the fight against male cancers and he said today that he "warmly welcomes" the result of the Royal Mail poll.
"This vote is a recognition of the changing face of men's health and a welcome support of this vitally important charity," he said, adding: "Royal Mail's match-funding promise is great news too."
Paul and other CWU members, friends and supporters have raised some £20,000 for this charity over the last four 'Movembers' - each one bigger than the last - and he's keen to make this year's event bigger yet.
"We'll be trying to recruit more people to our 'Movember movement' this year - and I'm hoping to see some of the managers joining up as well," said Paul.
"We've got a big target to reach and through this and various other initiatives, let's all try our best to achieve it."
Owen Sharp, the charity's chief executive, thanked Royal Mail staff for their support and predicted that the partnership would "make a real and tangible difference to the quarter of a million men living with this disease.
"As well as ensuring more men build a relationship with a
specialist nurse - which they tell us is invaluable - it will help
us get the message out to thousands of Royal Mail employees."
For more information on Prostate Cancer UK, please visit
www.prostatecanceruk.org/
or LTB
491/12.
