Argos raises €80k to fund nurses in Irish cancer centres

Argos announced this week that it has raised €80k (£62,790) to fund 3k nursing hours at the Irish Cancer Society’s Daffodil Centres, which provide advice, information and support to cancer sufferers based in Ireland’s hospitals. Since their March 2015 partnership with the Irish Cancer Society charity, Argos retail stores have hosted a variety of fundraising events such as the Colour Dash and Paint it Pink campaigns. John McCormack, CEO of the Irish Cancer Society, said in a statement that as the partnership continues they look forward to supporting almost 3k visitors at Daffodil Centres across Ireland and to launching numerous other fundraising initiatives throughout 2016.

Retailer Argos has raised €80,000 for the Irish Cancer Society, since the launch of its two year partnership in March last year.

The money raised so far will fund 3,000 nursing hours at the Irish Cancer Society’s hospital-based Daffodil Centres for people affected by cancer in Ireland, providing cancer information, support and advice in local communities.

Following the launch of the partnership last March with a Daffodil Day fundraiser, stores have hosted a wide range of events such as cake sales, raffles, along with participating in the Society’s own campaigns like Colour Dash and Paint it Pink.

Des Barnett, Charity Partnership Manager at Argos Republic of Ireland said: "Since the launch of our charity partnership with the Irish Cancer Society last year, we saw incredibly high levels of engagement from stores right across the country, which is fantastic.

"We far exceeded our fundraising target for the first year, and having voted to support the Irish Cancer Society, our colleagues will be delighted to know that they are making such a difference to people affected by cancer.

John McCormack, CEO, Irish Cancer Society, added: "We are so pleased to have the support of Argos.

"Every day we are fighting cancer on so many fronts to ensure that less people will die from this terrible disease.

"We are so grateful, not only for the support from the staff of Argos but also to their customers who have so enthusiastically gotten behind our cause.

"So far thanks to our partnership with Argos, we can support almost 3,000 visitors to one of our specialist Daffodil Centres, based in hospitals all over Ireland.

"We look forward to reaching even more people as our partnership continues to grow. Together we won’t give up until cancer does.”

Further fundraising plans by Argos colleagues in 2016 include support of the Irish Cancer Society’s national fundraising events such as Colour Dash, Paint it Pink, and Movember.