Every hour matters: our volunteering highlights from 2024 - Cancer Research UK

At Cancer Research UK, we’re grateful to benefit from the support of more than 25,000 incredible volunteers, supporters and panel members, who give their time, energy and skills to help us beat cancer. That’s enough to fill the O2 arena!

From powering our events to keeping our shops running smoothly, from campaigning for change to uniting their local communities to raise funds – the impact of our volunteers and supporters is felt across every area of the charity. Together, they make our progress possible.

Below, we're taking a look back at some of the varied and inspiring ways that people have given their time to support us this year.

A shop assistant fitting clothes on a mannequin

Two women looking at a Cancer Research UK branded tote bag in a shop

Volunteers give thousands of hours to support our shops

Volunteers are at the heart of our retail teams, and each year thousands of volunteers provide vital support to more than 550 shops right across the UK.

The role of a shop volunteer is exciting and rewarding, and volunteers get involved in a wide range of activities to keep our shops running smoothly, from styling windows with pre-loved fashion to talking with customers and making them feel welcome. On average, this year each shop volunteer generated more than £2,500 for Cancer Research UK through processing stock, helping to raise crucial income to help us beat cancer.

Volunteers in our shops and superstores also went the extra mile to support fundraising efforts for campaigns including Stand Up To Cancer, Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and the Bowelbabe Fund. Their creative initiatives, from themed window displays to tombolas and fancy dress, helped to raise vital funds and awareness of our work.

Lottie named Young Volunteer of the Year

Shop volunteer Lottie took home the Young Volunteer of the Year award at the prestigious Charity Retail Awards in June. Lottie first started volunteering at the Cancer Research UK shop in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, when she was just 19 years old. Despite suffering from debilitating anxiety, Lottie was determined to do something in memory of her Auntie Carol, who had died from cancer. With the support of the Ilkley shop team, Lottie started her volunteering journey and has never looked back! Five years on, Lottie has learned new skills, gained confidence and is now the life and soul of the shop community.

A young woman standing against a green background and holding an award

Lottie was awarded Young Volunteer of the Year at the Charity Retail Awards

Archie with his wife

Archie with his wife

Volunteers recognised in the King’s New Years Honours

Cancer Research UK volunteers John Mackintosh and Archie Bingham were both delighted to be awarded a British Empire Medal as part of the King’s New Years Honours.

Archie has chaired the Newcastle and Mourne local fundraising committee since 2009, during which time the group has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for Cancer Research UK.

John is also a passionate fundraiser, having raised over £180,000 between 1993 and 2023 for charities including Cancer Research UK. In addition to this, John has volunteered at our Elgin shop for the last quarter of a century.

“Getting a British Empire Medal is a huge honour. I just couldn’t believe it when I was first told.

“I love my time volunteering and the moments I get to share with the staff and volunteers. It’s like one big happy family and I’d feel lost without it.”

John Mackintosh

A man (John) standing in a shop wearing a Cancer Research UK branded jumper

John Mackintosh was awarded a British Empire Medal as part of the King's New Years Honours

A group of volunteers with collection buckets, with Rhod Gilbert standing in the centre

Supporters join Rhod Gilbert on tour

Fundraising groups, committees and individuals unite their local communities to bring in vital funds for Cancer Research UK.

Comedian Rhod Gilbert kindly offered the opportunity for Cancer Research UK to hold cash collections at each of his tour dates across England and Scotland for his new tour, Rhod Gilbert and the Giant Grapefruit.

Our collections started in June and supporters from our fundraising groups and Relay For Life committees have already raised more than £80,000. The tour is currently due to run until November 2025 so we’re really excited to see what the final total will be!

Business Beats Cancer reaches £2 million milestone

Business Beats Cancer brings together groups of business leaders in cities across the UK to act as ambassadors for Cancer Research UK, harnessing the power of their networks to support our life-saving research. Our first board, Business Beats Cancer Glasgow, started in 2015. We now have boards in Edinburgh, Ayrshire, Bristol, Belfast, Gurnsey, Dundee, Cymru, North East, Yorkshire, Manchester, Chester and Aberdeen, with more on the way. Business Beats Cancer has now raised an amazing £2 million to support our mission to create a world where everybody lives longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer.

A man with a microphone speaks at the Glasgow Business Beats Cancer event

Two people walking by some trees, which are lit up in purple

A female volunteer with dark hair and a high vis vest sits in front of a race for life sign

Three people running in Cancer Research UK branded tshirts

Volunteers power hundreds of events with energy and passion

From cheering on participants to helping them make their way around the course, our volunteers make our events possible.

Overall, more than 3,700 incredible volunteers supported our events this year – in addition to Race for Life, we saw volunteers supporting Shine Night Walk and our Big Hike events, as well as cheering on our supporters at third party events including the London Marathon.

This year, more than 2,800 incredible event volunteers powered our Race for Life events with their energy and enthusiasm. Race for Life is our biggest series of fundraising events and over 10 million people have taken part since it began more than 30 years ago, raising over £970 million towards life-changing cancer research.

Our media volunteers also helped to demonstrate the impact of our Race for Life events by sharing their powerful stories to support the 2024 events season. Their stories were featured over 30 times in national news and in more than 250 pieces of regional coverage, and also helped to create engaging social content. Six media volunteers also gave up their time to feature in the 2024 nationwide Race for Life radio ads, helping us to reach people right across the UK.

Media volunteers share their real stories

Our media volunteers help us raise awareness of cancer by sharing their stories.

In September, 23 families shared their stories in support of our Childhood Cancer Awareness Month campaign, with their powerful lived experiences helping to highlight the need for more research to help improve outcomes for young cancer patients.

As part of the campaign, media volunteer families featured on posters displayed in our shops and superstores, in national newspapers and Cancer News articles, and in social media posts.

Media Volunteers also featured prominently in this year’s Stand Up To Cancer fundraising campaign, which brings the UK together to speed-up progress in life-saving cancer research.

In October, 10 Media Volunteer families appeared in appeal films on Channel 4, including within Gogglebox, helping to connect with audiences across the country and drive home the impact of our research.

Pictured is media volunteer Julius, who featured in one of the Stand Up To Cancer films in support of the campaign.

A poster showing a teenage boy standing in a football stand

Joram was featured on some posters for our Childhood Cancer Awareness month campaign

Julius featured in one of the Stand Up To Cancer films in support of the campaign

Reaching thousands on our Cancer Awareness Roadshows

Our health awareness volunteers chat to the public at our Cancer Awareness Roadshows, helping people to reduce their cancer risk and spot signs and symptoms early.

This year, seven health awareness volunteers joined us at different locations right across the UK, where they helped to welcome people to the Roadshows and encourage them to have a free health test, pick up handy leaflets with helpful cancer information, and chat to our Cancer Awareness nurses.

Together, our Roadshow teams reach around 45,000-50,000 people each year.

A male Cancer Research UK nurse who is holding leaflets speaks to a woman

Going the extra mile with corporate volunteering

In 2024, over 40 organisations took some time away from their day jobs to support Cancer Research UK through corporate volunteering.

Between January and July, 88 corporate volunteering days took place across 38 of our shops, hubs and superstores. Collectively, corporate volunteers gave more than 2,000 hours of their time across our Trading sites to make a difference for people affected by cancer.

Corporate volunteers have also been providing vital support at our events. Pictured are staff members from contract logistics provider GXO, who have supported Race for Life through corporate volunteering for over five years. In 2024, 29 colleagues from their Barnsley site volunteered at nine different events across Barnsley, Sheffield and Wakefield, equating to an incredible 186 hours of volunteering!

a group of 10 people wearing high vis jackets and standing in front of a Race for Life sign

GXO staff volunteering at one of our Race for Life events

A large group of Campaigns Ambassadors standing on a balcony wearing different coloured Cancer Research UK T shirts

Two people sit facing away from the camera. The back of their T shirts reads 'Together we will beat cancer'

Volunteers call for a #TurningPointForCancer

In June, we welcomed around 60 of our inspirational volunteer Campaigns Ambassadors to our Stratford office for our first ever Campaigner Conference.

The conference gave our Ambassadors the opportunity to meet teams from across the charity in a marketplace setting and learn more about the work that goes on across Cancer Research UK. They also honed their influencing skills in a workshop and heard more about our Turning Point For Cancer campaign.

Our Campaigner Conference was also an opportunity to collaborate with One Cancer Voice, a key cancer coalition made up of fellow cancer charities. Some of our Campaigns Ambassadors, along with our CEO Michelle Mitchell, took part in a short video alongside One Cancer Voice, calling for the next UK Government to lead on cancer.

Following the event, our Campaigns Ambassadors made sure their local parliamentary candidates heard that this general election had to be a #TurningPointForCancer.

Campaigners standing across the river from westminster

Volunteers make their voices heard in Westminster

In November, around 100 Campaigns Ambassadors joined us in the heart of Westminster for Parliament Day. This event, which takes place every other year, is an exciting opportunity for Ambassadors to meet their MPs in Parliament.

This year, the event was held only a day after the Second Reading of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill and focused on our SmokefreeUK campaign. Ambassadors also heard from a range of inspiring speakers including Dr Peter Prinsley MP, Labour MP for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket. Together, our Campaigns Ambassadors play a vital role in helping us to keep cancer at the top of the political agenda.

Influencing our Tesco health campaign

Our Involvement Network Members are people affected by cancer, who share their lived experiences and perspectives with us to shape and improve our work and campaigns. This year, feedback from members of our Cancer Insights Panels has helped to influence the messages featured in our health awareness campaign running in Tesco Pharmacies, ensuring the messaging is clear, engaging and sensitive to people affected by cancer.

A man and woman sit together at a laptop

Annual social event for our Cancer Insight Panel members

In September, the Patient Involvement team hosted our annual social event at Barts Cancer Institute in London. 33 former and current members of our Cancer Insights Panels and our Inclusion in Involvement Steering Group came together in person, with other members joining online. This event was an opportunity for members to connect with each other, hear from world-leading cancer researchers and tour the laboratories at Barts Cancer Institute to get closer to our work. This was also a chance for us to thank them for their support this year and celebrate their incredible contributions to driving progress in cancer research.

"The day didn't meet my expectations, it smashed them out of the park. It was a very welcoming event and you could tell the time and effort taken to plan the day for us all."

- Cancer Insights Panel member -

Celebrating our volunteers at the Flame of Hope awards

In 2024, we celebrated the achievements of some of our most outstanding volunteers at our Flame of Hope awards. 135 volunteer winners and their guests joined us at six historic locations, from Allington Castle in Kent to the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh, where they enjoyed a special afternoon tea and received their Flame of Hope trophies from senior leaders including Michelle Mitchell, our Chief Executive.

A flame of hope menu sits on a table decorated with flowers

Making a difference

Thank you again to our incredible volunteer community for everything you do to support Cancer Research UK. Every shirt you steam, event you attend, petition you sign, story you share and hour you give makes a difference for people affected by cancer.

Together we are beating cancer.