Pretty n Pink Breast Cancer Charity hub in Portadown, Co Armagh helps support people with practical, financial and emotional support.
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00:00Karen, tell me a little bit about your charity, Pretty in Pink. What do you do and where are
00:07you based?
00:08Okay, Pretty in Pink initially was founded in 2006 by a lady called Noli Madao, who through
00:15her own cancer journey knew exactly what cancer patients needed at the time that they were
00:23going through the breast cancer journey. So she founded the charity and it was initially
00:28based in Belfast at the Park Centre and it has grown from strength to strength. The hub
00:35here in Portadown was opened two years ago and because of the need, Noli's sister Leanne
00:44has carried on the charity in Noli's absence and she's seen the vision for to come to Portadown
00:50because of the connection with Craigarbon Hospital and the breast care unit there. So
00:56our main role is to support breast cancer patients from the moment they are diagnosed
01:05until they feel that they no longer need our support. And we support them practically,
01:15financially and emotionally.
01:19Tell me about the clients that you have coming in here and what they're...
01:23We have a very wide range of age of patients coming through our doors at the minute. Some
01:32newly diagnosed, some re-diagnosed and ones who are just needing help, support and guidance.
01:41So in the office here we have a support fund comes from the office here. We would ring
01:48patients and find out exactly what their needs is at the time, whether they need the money
01:55for shopping like groceries from Tesco's, Asda, Marks and Spencers, whether oil is a
02:02big priority for them at that time or whether it's the heating through electricity. So we
02:08would support them that way. We also have a counselling system that works within the
02:13office here in Portadieu and the ladies can come and avail of six counselling sessions
02:20and also we have complimentary therapies in the form of free taxology. So the patients
02:27would get six of those as well. Now when we say they have six, we never would say bye-bye.
02:38We're always there, we're always at the end of the phone even if the patient has finished
02:44their six counselling sessions, their six complimentary therapy sessions. During that
02:49time we have built up such a lovely relationship with the patients that's coming through that
02:56they feel that they can contact us at any time for support and just to chat. If they
03:05have questions, they don't sit at home lying, they can lift the phone and phone period pink
03:11and most of our volunteers, our support workers have been through the breast cancer journey
03:17themselves so we know exactly where the patients are, we know their emotional state,
03:24we know exactly what they're going through and we can talk to them from a personal experience
03:31which is very important. We also have a nice sort of drop-in shop here as well with all the
03:38lovely furniture. It's obviously a very welcoming place for people with
03:42this illness. People do find the hub here in Portadieu very peaceful and very tranquil
03:51and we did start off the hub with great support from the community in Portadieu and from the
03:58businesses in Portadieu. We had people that volunteered to paint, we had people that volunteered
04:05to do woodwork, we had people that donated doors and no matter what we asked of the local community
04:14we were never turned away and we were never said no to. The Portadieu area really got
04:21behind Pretty in Pink to support us and to have this hub here for to support the people in the
04:27area. You've obviously had a lot of people come through here, how many people do you on average?
04:36Well the office is very busy, the main day is Tuesday where that's our drop-in day that anyone
04:45can come in without an appointment just to see us, just to ask questions, just to seek support.
04:52Also on the other days of the week there's complementary therapies and counselling going on
04:59within this office, so it's not just on a Tuesday that is the open day, it's every day
05:06that the the office is used to support people in the local area. It's a lot of money as well to
05:13try and keep this going, there's electricity, you've got all the treatments as well.
05:19Pretty in Pink get most of their money through patients, through patients who have come
05:27through the support fund and they would maybe do a fundraiser or ask local charity donations
05:36and different businesses would take on Pretty in Pink as their charity and they would support us
05:43but the most important thing that Pretty in Pink are very proud of is that every penny
05:50that we are given rather through a donation our charity fundraiser stays within Northern Ireland
05:56and goes right back into the community to the people who need it most.
06:02So you've got an event coming up next month? Yes as most people would know October is the
06:09recognised breast cancer month and over of the whole of Northern Ireland and beyond
06:16they will be doing fundraising events for breast cancer. Now Pretty in Pink are taking on
06:23particularly between the 14th and the 20th of October to support the charity in going
06:30around local businesses asking them to have a collection box, to have the balloons, to have
06:38awareness raised within the area here for the charity and for what we do for the people in the
06:45local area. We are very fortunate in that a lot of businesses take on Pretty in Pink the whole year
06:52round. We would have different businesses in the town that always have our collection box
06:59on their till site or somewhere within their business but this is an extra special drive
07:07that we are going to do the whole week of October from the 14th to the 20th
07:12and we would just appeal to as many businesses within the Portadown area to come on board
07:18and help support the local charity that supports people in Northern Ireland.