Use your mad skills to fight against cancer

Today is World Cancer Day. Use your mad skills to fight against cancer.

>> There’s that catch 22: you can't get a job until you have experience and you can't get experience until you have a job.

>> Roughly 14 million people learn they have cancer each year, and according to the CDC, 8 million of those die from the disease (cdc.gov, 2015).

>>The National Council for Voluntary Organisations says charities have not recovered from the economic crash, making them unable to cover overheads, and ultimately compromising their long-term sustainability (thirdforcenews.org.uk, 2015).

So what do these three statements have in common?

>>A new way to give back

With so many charities comes an enormous amount of generosity. According to the Charities Aid Foundation, “the estimated total amount donated to charity by UK adults in 2014 was £10.6 billion” (Charities Aid Foundation, 2015). That’s a lot of dough.

Unfortunately, not everyone is in a position to donate money. And that’s OK!

There’s a new way you can stand up and fight against cancer.

This is where F Cancer Project comes in.

F Cancer Project is a technology platform and online community that gives you the opportunity to harness your skills and convert them into a new form of charitable currency which can then be donated to cancer charities all around the world! How cool is that?

Whether you are a photographer, graphic designer, in school for marketing, or a post-uni social media guru, F Cancer Project gives you that chance to SHINE and create that brilliant portfolio, all while giving back to a great cause.

It’s super easy!

By going online to fcancer.org you can simply sign up, list your mad skills and how many hours you want to pledge. Charities will then create projects listing the skills they need and F Cancer will match up those volunteers with what the charities are looking for.

And don’t worry if you think you aren’t in the right location, there are plenty of postings that can be completed in the comfort of your own home – snuggy and all!

Once you’ve donated your time and skills, you’re then credited the hours on your profile.

BOOM! Done. You make a killer portfolio and charities lower their overheads, thus increasing funds for what really matters: research to end cancer.

>>A wee message from F Cancer Project

Julia Krepska, Project Manager, F Cancer Project, kindly answered a few of my questions for this post, as I not only wanted to outline what a brilliant organisation this is, but I wanted a personal touch for the readers to understand where F Cancer has been and where it hopes to go.

What are your thoughts on how well the F Cancer movement has kicked off?

It's been an incredible journey since the start of the charity - the official launch of our platform took place on the 4th February 2013 and since then we've had over 4500 volunteers registered with us and more than 80 cancer charities. The feedback has been amazing, from both volunteers and charities. The charities are very excited as we're the only platform matching volunteers exclusively with cancer charities. Volunteers are excited because they can utilise their skills - many of our projects are remote so graphic designers, web designers, animators, social media or marketing volunteers can help charities around the world from the comfort of their home or even a cafe.

Where would you like to see F Cancer Project and those involved in the next few years?

We would love to have thousands of volunteers registered on our platform and actively helping cancer charities around the world. Our aim is to help as many cancer charities as possible so hopefully, initially, all UK and US charities will get support from our volunteers and then eventually we'd love to help all cancer charities around the world. The good thing about being a technology platform is that we can bring volunteers and charities from around the world into one place.

>>Conclusions

My mom passed away from Leukaemia when I was 4. I think that was the first time I heard that c word: cancer. Christmas 2014, my father-in-law was diagnosed with cancer in his kidney and just last year, an old friend and colleague was diagnosed with the same. Thankfully, both my father-in-law and old friend have since recovered.

This horrible disease will not go away unless we fight. Money’s tight and jobs are hard to come by. Trust me, I know! Even with a BSc in Communications and an MSc in International Marketing, I didn’t have what companies really want: Experience. I was frustrated with that catch 22. However, I pushed forward and with hard work and a little luck, one (brilliant) company gave me that chance and for them I am forever grateful. Now I want to pay it forward.

I believe whole-heartedly in this project, in giving talented people a chance, helping charities thrive, and for fighting against cancer. And with all this said, I pledge to spread the word.

For more information on F Cancer Project, visit their website fcancer.org, follow them on Twitter @FcancerProject and like them on Facebook /TheFCancerProject

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