M&C Saatchi S&e Backs Cancer United

M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment has announced a new partnership with Cancer United – a registered charity providing support for those fighting and recovering from cancer across the coastal West Sussex region. 

Central to Cancer United’s ethos is the belief that physical activity should be part of any cancer recovery journey and they have created ‘CU Fitter’ – the UK’s first instructor training programme and gym dedicated to providing fitness classes for cancer patients and survivors.

The BT Sport Industry Awards 2016 Agency of the Year joined CU Fitter after being contacted by former employee, Jo Bayles. Jo has recently recovered from breast cancer and, having attended CU Fitter during the course of her treatment, is now a core member of the CU Fitter team and on the road to becoming a fully qualified trainer.

M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment will be working with the charity on a pro-bono basis to help build CU Fitter into a national brand, by ‘fighting cancer with fitness’. The agency is currently in the process of rolling out a fully integrated strategic plan for the charity, including branding, marketing, PR and experiential support.

Jamie Wynne-Morgan, managing director at the agency, said: “The charity’s mission to encourage cancer patients to embrace fitness and be more active perfectly reflects our company ethos; like them, we believe in the power of sport and fitness. When former employee, Jo Bayles, got in touch to ask for some help it was a no-brainer that we’d get involved. So many people in the agency have been affected by cancer in one way or another and this is a practical solution where we hope we can make a real difference.”

The agency has also adopted the organisation as its official charity partner, instigating a series of internal fundraising initiatives to help raise contributions.

Jan Sheward, founder of Cancer United and CU Fitter, added: “Over the last year, Cancer United and our CU Fitter programme have grown from strength to strength. The difference we see in each individual, as they participate in our classes alongside their conventional treatment, is incredible and so now more than ever, we need to raise funds for the charity to keep this progress going. The support we have received from M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment is unbelievable, they are helping us transform our little local charity into something much bigger that people will be able to benefit from nationally.”

M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment kicks off its work with a fundraising trail run – OutRunCancer – on Sunday 25th September in Sussex, offering both a 5k and 10k option, welcoming runners of all abilities.

For more details and to register online go to www.cancerunited.org.uk/outruncancer.