Kerry Cancer Support Group News.

The Radio Kerry Radio Bingo game is now in its second year and will continue to support four charity partners Kerry Cancer Support Group, Kerry Hospice, Recovery Haven Kerry Cancer Support House and Comfort for Chemo Kerry with proceeds distributed equally among them.

As well as the weekly Jackpot there is a daily prize of €400 for players who fill a panel on the daily page. Numbers are broadcast 5 times per day on Radio Kerry as well as being posted on Radio Kerry Facebook and Instagram Stories daily. Books are €5 each available from over 70 outlets countywide. Radio Kerry does not take benefit financially from the Radio Bingo game. “Radio Kerry Bingo came at just the right time for Kerry Cancer Support Group. We were coming out of what had been a very difficult time during Covid when all fundraising had almost come to a halt. The bingo raised not only vital funds but awareness too. The majority of the funding has been ringfenced for a new wheelchair accessible bus for our Cork route. We were lucky to receive 100k in funding but have to raise another 90k to buy the vehicle. Thanks to everyone who continues to support. It really means a great deal to the team and most of all to our service users.”

For more details on Radio Kerry Radio Bingo and a list of participating shops where books can be purchased are available on www.radiokerry.ie/bingo

Ten years ago we listened. One of the biggest concerns for those being diagnosed with cancer in our region was how to get to our Centre’s of excellence for treatment. In 2010 Kerry Cancer Support Group put a service on the road to meet that need and 10 years later we are still meeting the needs of people not only in Kerry but in parts of Cork and Limerick too. Transport is seen as an essential part of treatment. Kerry Cancer Support Group is a community based charity and it provides a community based transport service to people accessing Cancer Treatment Centres in Kerry, Cork and Limerick. We are a registered charity in Ireland. We provide cancer support services and facilities free of charge to people affected by cancer in Kerry, West Cork and parts of Limerick. Our supported transport service has been in existence for 10 years.

From humble beginnings in we now provide practical services for our service users such as a bus services 5 days a week, bridging transport service, information service to schools and community groups and a peer companion service. We believe that “no one should face their cancer journey alone” and having transported almost 3,000 people to over 25,000 cancer related appointments we hope that we are living up to that. We help people through their journey with the help of funding from community groups, donations, sponsorship and fundraising activities. We work in partnership with the HSE, the medical profession, the Irish Cancer Society and other relevant agencies. We are independently governed and operated and are not funded by any national cancer organisations or don’t receive any statuary funding.

The demand for the transport service has been increasing each year. Transport to and from appointments benefit the patient and the family while also reducing anxiety and stress. Our service users stay in touch long after their time on the bus has finished. We like to say that they start as patients and leave as friends.

In 10 years we have purchased 4 buses – 1st 2010, 2nd 2013, 3rd 2017, 4th 2019 Limerick. The service cost €299,217 to operate in 2019.

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Ride Dingle is the latest and most exciting cycle sportif to be added to the cycle event calendar. Elite Event Management who produce the Ring of Beara Cycle Kenmare as well as the Quest Adventure Series and other events, bring you this event in conjunction with Dingle Cycling Club.

Ride Dingle will return for the second year on Saturday 25th of April 2020 when cycle enthusiasts will have the opportunity to choose from two routes, a 55km route around Slea Head. The longer route of 120km will take in Slea Head and then continue on to Conor Pass and Anascaul via Camp and back to Dingle where the after-party and celebrations await.

The cycle organisers are very proud to partner with Kerry Cancer Support Group to raise awareness for their services as well as funding through proceeds from the cycle.

Ride Dingle takes place on Saturday April 25th 2020, click here to register

UK outdoor retailer, Mountain Warehouse, has designed a range of 5 canvas tote bags, where 100% of the profits from each bag sold will go to local charities around their stores across the UK and Republic of Ireland. We at the Kerry Cancer Support Group, have been so lucky to be the chosen charity for the Mountain Warehouse Tralee store.

The Kerry Cancer Support Group and Mountain Warehouse are passionate about supporting the local community, so we hope you will join us in this exciting campaign and pay a visit to the Tralee store to check out the new canvas bag collection.

For more information head to https://www.mountainwarehouse.com/community/charity/mountain-warehouse-charity-bags//

Introducing our new logo

We're proud to announce the launch of our new logo, colour scheme, and additionally our new website kerrycancersupport.com!

So, why the new look?

Our current branding has been going strong for 8 years. With the launch of our new Limerick route which started on the 25th of June, we saw this as a great opportunity to give a fresh feel to Kerry Cancer Support Group Health Link Transport.

Our new direction

From the outset we were aware that the rebrand was going to be a bit of a balancing act. We wanted to convey that this was a new, improved service, but also not steer so far from the original one. With that in mind, we agreed quite early on that we should go back and rework an earlier concept that the charity had for our logo, and if possible, to try and maintain a certain degree of consistency when thinking about the new colour palette. It didn't hurt that from a design point of view it is also a very nice format to work with. As with any logo, we wanted it to concisely convey everything that our charity stands for.

It had to be fundamentally apparent that we are a support service that we are reliable, and above all else we are friendly and service user orientated. We wanted to make it clear that this is an accessible service that anybody can use. In general, the best logos are those that are versatile and adaptable.

A logo needs to be able to work in different contexts and still be instantly recognisable. Whether it's big or small, black and white or all the colours of the rainbow, you should still be able to understand what it is within the first few seconds of looking at it. So, simplicity was the key.

Experimentation

The first stop was the sketch book to see what we could come up with. We wanted the main focus to be on people with transport also a feature and to that end we felt the logo should be representative of people supporting each other, with a bus in there and arms embracing it. However after some development, we decided that some elements were surplus to requirement and the overall look was too busy. So our new aim was to find a way to simplify with the incorporation of circles and rounded edges.

Roundness provides friendliness so we decided that our wording would be the main structure of the outer circle with people in the centre supporting each other in turn being supported by the hand of those around the region who support us in keeping the service going. This is what the new logo stands for.

Colour

 The colours from our previous colour palette that you will recognise are the green and red. We have added an orange/yellow and a blue. The colours represent Kerry, Cork and Limerick in the people and Munster in the hand supporting them. It was after several weeks of development, that we arrived at our final design!

We feel the logo stays true to our roots while still reflecting the evolution of our service to meet the needs of the public. We're really excited about it, and would love to hear what you think! The current logo will be gradually phased out over the coming months.