The Cancer Awareness Champions project assists small community organisations and local businesses in raising awareness about cancer, promoting screening participation, and encouraging early diagnosis.
Spring North has collaborated closely with the Cancer Alliance and delivery partners across Lancashire and South Cumbria to recruit and enhance the skills of local Cancer Awareness Champions. These champions increase awareness and share accessible, low-level cancer messages within their communities, aiming to boost screening attendance and promote early diagnosis.
This is a new initiative, developed collaboratively with our partners to ensure effective delivery. It includes designing training, facilitating coordination, and providing ongoing support for both voluntary and workplace-based champions across the county. Particular emphasis has been placed on reaching underserved and marginalised communities, aiming to reduce health inequalities and contribute to NHS Core20PLUS5 priorities by addressing barriers to accessing cancer information and services.
Using trusted community partners, local organisations facilitate discussions about cancer, challenge stigma, and help individuals understand and navigate available support and screening options.
The Cancer Awareness Champions project demonstrates the effectiveness of collaboration across the voluntary, community, faith, and social enterprise sectors alongside clinical settings. By adopting a community-led approach to health messaging, we promote natural engagement within trusted communities and offer comprehensive support for all involved.
“Support from Spring North has been effective and valued, particularly: Project coordination and regular communication; Access to high-quality resources and materials; Flexibility around delivery and reporting requirements.”
The Kitemark will help bring people together around shared values: care, compassion, and hope. It will emphasise where support is strong, where connections are forming, and where we are collaborating to prevent suicide and promote mental health and wellbeing.
The Orange Button scheme is a way of showing others in your community who are having thoughts of suicide, or are worried about somebody else, that you are comfortable talking about suicide, can listen without judgement and can direct people to help support.
Our delivery partner Realign Futures provides suicide prevention training to support individuals, organisations, and communities to recognise and respond to suicide risk. Our training includes ASIST, a two-day course that builds practical suicide intervention skills, and safeTALK, an awareness session focused on identifying risk and connecting people to appropriate support.
