melanomatas 2018 chair report
On behalf of the board, we wish you and your families a safe and healthy Christmas period. We know that for some it can be a challenging time remembering those who have lost their lives to melanoma or are struggling with the disease, so our thoughts go out to you.
A warm acknowledgement to our board: Scott Nicol (Treasurer), Kate Atkinson (Vice Chair), Wendy Sullivan (Secretary), Dr Di King, Trish McDonald, Dr Nikki Elkerton, Andrew Johns, Candice Terhell and Dr Tim Jackson for your continued work, guidance and support.
The start of 2018 saw us visit community groups who invited us to share information around the dangers of UV and melanoma. Thank you to Kingston Tennis Club for what was a very successful President’s Day.
2018 saw Melanoma Tasmania sell the Entertainment Book for the first time and we enjoyed strong support so thank you to everyone who bought a book from us. We know that there are many schools and community groups for you to choose who to purchase from, so thank you for choosing us.
Melanoma Tasmania was chosen to receive a Centenary Grant from the Commonwealth Bank – we feel humbled that your staff chose us as their local charity.
The Run From The Sun 2018 (RFTS18) was the biggest yet and was spread over 2 weeks for the first time. Ken Harriss was joined by Kadie Pretyman and Leonie Crosse for the tour and we cannot thank them enough for the amazing hours, kilometres and energy that they gave in order to spread the word about the dangers of UV and melanoma. They visited 15 schools, delivered 20 education sessions and dropped in on 3 skin clinics traveling 2058 kms in total! This year also saw the inclusion of visits to pharmacies across the state providing skin scans to show UV damage. Thank you to Cancer Council Tasmania for the use of their machine. The middle weekend of RFTS18 saw a fundraising ride organized by Leon Cupit and our heartfelt thanks go out to him and the fantastic bunch of riders who came along and joined in the fun.
Our relationship with Ego Skincare continues to flourish and we thank them for the donation of products to give out at presentations and events. We are honoured to team up with an Australian skincare company as passionate about minimising the incidence of melanoma as we are.
In November we launched a campaign, in conjunction with Ego Skincare, aimed at tourists visiting our state. We look forward to seeing our brochures and UV bracelets in high traffic tourism areas across the state
We have also formed a strong relationship with UTAS and we are excited to put into action some very creative ideas born from the Creative Challenge.
There are so many people to thank – those who have sought support, those who have donated, those who have run fundraisers for us and
those who have given in kind support – you are the reason that we continue to do what we do.
We will continue to fight for funding so that together we can minimise the incidence of melanoma in Tasmania
Di Mason
Founder & Chair