LIONS V DISTRICTS CANCER FOUNDATION
skin CHECK & AWARENESS uNIT
FOR VICTORIA AND SOUTHERN NSW
OUR AIM:
To establish a mobile Skin Cancer Skin Check and Awareness Unit in Victoria and Southern New South Wales with related skin check facilities provided by accredited trained professional Dermoscopists and other appropriately qualified personnel.
About
more about us
Our Project
By bringing together public and Lions sourced funding and calling on volunteers from around the state, we aim to put a fully resourced and voluntarily staffed skin cancer check van as a free service, in particular to service rural and remote areas
About Us
The Lions V Districts Cancer Foundation was initially formed, registered as a charitable organisation and achieved charitable status, with the initial task of getting the van on the road. Future work will also include assisting in cancer research.
Get Involved
Whether you contribute financially or as a volunteer, you make a real difference.
Get involved where it matters
Connect with us and help to potentially save lives. With the high incidence of skin cancer in Australia and often poorly resourced rural areas, we need your help.
Get Involved
Your generosity makes our work possible. Whether you contribute financially or as an advocate for us.
Learn more about our cause
Your generosity makes our work possible. Whether you contribute financially or as an advocate for us.
Our motto
skin checks for life
Your generosity makes our work possible. Whether you contribute financially or as a volunteer, you can make a real and lasting difference in people’s lives – and that includes saving the lives of others!
Start now
How to start?
Making a donation to us is a big start, as we can’t get the project up and running until we have sufficient funds to purchase and fit out a van and buy a truck to move it around the state.
You may also wish to be considered as a volunteer. We need current or former health professionals willing to give up some time on a regular basis to conduct the skin checks. Training will be undetaken and, with a commitment to the program, fees will be fully refundable
We are here to help!
If you need more information or would like to ask us any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!
get involved
how you can help
Make a donation
Your generosity will help to make this vision a reality.
AWARD SPONSORSHIP
VOLUNTEER
For this project to be a success we need dedicated volunteers willing to be regular drivers, administrators and skin check dermoscopists.
This a Lions V Districts project
The Districts of Lions International in Victoria and Southern New South Wales have identified a distinct need for a mobile skin cancer check and awareness unit to operate across Victoria and, in particular, in remote areas and towns and centres not serviced, or fully serviced, by dermatologists or other skin specialists.
Australia has one of the highest skin cancer rates in the world. This is nothing to be proud of. With our love of the outdoors and our, at times, harsh climate, as a people we are often exposed to the dangers of excessive amounts of ultra violet radiation.
Despite many campaigns and promotions, people remain ambivalent to checking for possible lesions, and attitudes about sun protection and prevention remain mixed – with many people still not taking adequate measures to protect themselves.
Accessibility to skin checks and, in turn, to skin specialists is limited. GP’s with suitable vision magnification tools can help, but this method is not as accurate as the use of a dermoscope by a trained practitioner, and still presumes that people are requesting a check of their skin. People living in regional areas are more at risk, with mortality rates higher in those areas, which can be attributed to a higher proportion of outdoor workers, poor accessibility to dermatologists and inadequate approaches to sun protection.
Our latest activity
UP AND RUNNING
Now fully functional, the Skin Check and Awareness Unit is visiting towns and centres around Victoria and Southern NSW, providing free skin checks.
Go to our Events page to see where the unit is heading:
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
To ensure the success of this project we are now calling for volunteers for a range of roles:
- Skin Check Roster and Dermoscopists Coordinator – undertaking the task of managing the logistical arrangements relating to trained dermoscopists and liaison with host clubs
- Truck / Unit and Driver coordinator – managing the overall functioning and maintenance of the truck and van as well as the approval and rostering of drivers
- Truck drivers – becoming part of a roster of drivers to transport the van to host areas
- Dermoscopists – with an already growing team of trained/training dermoscopists, we are still calling for more to join the team. With three dermoscopists attending each visit, it is important we have a large pool to call on and volunteers from all Districts would be ideal
Each of the roles present wonderful opportunities for Lions to be involved in direct, impactful and highly rewarding community service that can truly result in the saving of lives.
From our newsletter
CLUB DONATIONS
This project is for all V Districts Clubs. It will provide a purpose built mobile unit, fully equipped with the necessary equipment to conduct skin cancer screenings.
The Foundation will manage the van, equipment and staffing of the van – but it is the clubs that will make this work. What a wonderful service activity for your local town or suburb.
Put simply, clubs will host a visit, having applied to have the van visit their area. We will ask clubs to then assist with local publicity and with the bookings and will encourage clubs to contribute to the costs of the van attending their area.
What an excellent service activity – let’s face it: it’s this type of service that Lions is all about. And you could directly save lives!
First of all though, we need to get the van up and running and fully operational. We need the help of every V Districts club. Any donation, big or small, helps us to move closer to the target. But we need a total of at least $350,000 just to get started . . .
Please discuss at your next meeting and make a commitment!
Join Mailing list
Stay up to date on our progress and journey and hear about our many success stories.
viclionscf@gmail.com
WITH GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM:
GOLD SUPPORTERS
Geoff and Helen Handbury Foundation
PLATINUM SUPPORTERS
