How did you first get involved?
My sister in law passed away from ovarian cancer in 2013, and so, when the opportunity to take on a trustee position at Ovarian Cancer Action arose, I knew this was a cause that I wanted to support.
For the past 4 years I’ve been advising and supporting them from a marketing and fundraising perspective. I’ve helped in raising brand awareness, positioning and developing targeted campaigns. And more recently, we’ve looked at the impact of COVID-19 and bringing best practices from the corporate world into an NGO, as well as how to adapt fundraising approaches to a COVID-19 world.
Why is volunteering important to you?
I love being able to use my professional skills and expertise in a different way than I do at work. As a trustee, I’m also learning more about how to manage a full business as I’m exposed to everything from governance to finance to compliance, as well as dealing with science and technology. It’s a fascinating organisation and I’m learning as much as I’m giving in my trustee role.
With Ovarian Cancer Action, the money raise is directly invested into scientific research – since 2006 we’ve funded £12.3 million of research projects and we’re committed to funding the next generation of research and to accelerating progress in three main areas: preventing the disease, diagnosing it early and developing effective, personalised treatments, as well as campaigning to increase awareness and improve understanding of symptoms. It’s amazing to feel that I am indirectly preventing millions of women from potentially dying from ovarian cancer.
