National Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2022 – how you can get involved

Every year in October, Breast Cancer Awareness brings together thousands of organisations to highlight the importance of breast awareness, education, and research. Every ten minutes in the UK, another person is diagnosed with breast cancer and therefore it is so important to raise awareness and money to help fight this illness.

If you would like to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month to raise funds to help ensure important research can continue and the support for those affected by breast cancer, then take a look at some of the ways you can get involved (and have fun with it too!)

Wear It Pink

Friday 21st October is Breast Cancer Now’s famous Wear It Pink Day, one of the easiest and most fun ways to get involved and raise vital funds. Whether you want to wear a simple pink ribbon pin or an all-out costume, make sure you register to receive a free fundraising pack filled with lots of creative ideas to help you get friends and family involved in Wear It Pink.

Set your own fundraising challenge

This is a great opportunity to push yourself into a new challenge and raise some funds along the way. Perhaps you’ve always put off training to run 10 kilometres, or you could challenge yourself to swim or cycle a certain amount of miles over October. If you have a sweet tooth, set yourself the challenge of no chocolate or sweets for the month, and if you’re feeling really bold you could even consider a sponsored head shave! Ultimately, as long as it truly nudges you out of your comfort zone, friends and family will be itching to support you and donate.

Go Shopping!

Yes, really! Breast Cancer Now have their own online shop with all proceeds supporting their work, but throughout October, lots of retailers offer special products with a portion of the sales going directly to Breast Cancer Now. Keep an eye on your favourite shops’ websites and social media channels, with companies previously involved including GHD and Cath Kidston. Asda have supported the work of breast cancer charities every year since 1996 and offer a huge range of charity products each year, from stationery, to clothes and even tea bags, so you can do your weekly shop as usual and make a difference!

From your home

Life is very different since the Covid pandemic, so why not donate based on that lifestyle change? If you are currently working from home, you could donate what your usually monthly commute and daily shop bought lunch would cost you. As we move into Autumn, it’s a good opportunity to clear out your wardrobes, so why not sell those items taking up on space (easy online selling sites include Ebay, Depop and Facebook marketplace) and donate your takings to charity. It’s also a great way to encourage sustainable fashion too!

Social events

There are still lots of ways you can raise money in a group! You could organise a quiz or bingo night held over video call (a very common way of communicating since the pandemic) and charge a small entry fee to everyone taking part to donate to charity.

A birthday fundraiser

If your birthday falls in October, you could host an online party that can also raise money for charity! There are lots of platforms like Skype, Houseparty and Zoom you can invite friends and family to join in on and you could ask them to consider donating what a drink out to celebrate your birthday would have cost instead. Facebook also now offers a birthday fundraising function, making it easier than ever to ask your friends to donate to a worthy cause.

Payroll giving

This is something you can do all year round, but October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month is the perfect time to get started with this method of support. You can choose how much you would like to give every month and one of the major benefits of donating in this way is that your gift each month can be worth up to 40% more as the donation is made before tax deductions!

Each year, around 55,000 women and 370 men in the UK will be diagnosed with breast cancer, so every donation truly does make a difference to help make life-saving research and life-changing care happen.
If you want to find out more about any of the above ways you can get involved with Breast Cancer Awareness month, how to become a volunteer or for more information click here.