Roy Castle Charity Asks People To Donate Mobiles For Lung Cancer Awareness Month

Lung Cancer Awareness Month takes place this month and The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, is asking people to donate old mobile phones and printer cartridges to its Recycling Appeal (www.recyclingappeal.com/roycastle) to raise vital funds in the fight against the disease.

The charity is looking at alternative ways to raise funds during this economic downturn and recognises that this could be a good opportunity for supporters to raise money when cash donations may be harder to generate.

Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation is the UK’s only charity dedicated to defeating lung cancer, and the money raised through the Recycling Appeal will go toward three main areas of activity: lung cancer research; support for patients and their families; and tobacco control programmes.

With over 3 billion phones in the world being replaced every 18 months (on average) and an estimated 60 million old mobile phones collecting dust in the UK alone, the charity is encouraging everyone to avoid sending their mobiles to landfill and recycle them instead.

Donating your mobile to Roy Castle Foundation is really easy through the Recycling Appeal. All you have to do is pop your unwanted mobile phone or printer cartridges in a freepost envelope, send them off and they will be converted into pounds for the charity.

Pioneered in the UK by The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Relief, Lung Cancer Awareness Month is now in its sixth year. The month long awareness raising campaign aims to educate more people, especially those at risk of lung cancer about the importance of early diagnosis as well as the symptoms to look out for.

Janine Drew, fundraising manager at the Foundation said: “November is obviously a very important month both in raising funds and awareness for the charity. The Recycling Appeal campaign is just one of the ways that people can show their support and help us raise money and it works very well for us. We recognise that in the current climate, this might be a better option for many people in supporting charities. We have been fundraising through the Recycling Appeal since 2000 and hope that people will continue to donate their unwanted mobiles phones and printer cartridges as a way of fundraising.

“We urge people who still currently throw away their mobile phones and cartridges to take just a few moments of time to donate them instead. It’s free, it’s simple to do and it really does make a difference.”

Jamie Rae, chief executive of Redeem plc, which runs the Recycling Appeal, commented: “Having been touched personally by lung cancer I am well aware of the devastating effects of this disease. I am also aware of the excellent work carried out by the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.

“I am proud to say that we have been working with Roy Castle for over eight years, recycling donated print cartridges and mobile phones which we then convert into vital funds for the charity. We were delighted to recently break the £200,000 barrier for funds raised through the Recycling Appeal, and we hope that the public will continue to help raise money this way, especially this month because the money raised really does make a difference.”

Recycle your mobile during Lung Cancer Awareness Month by visiting www.recyclingappeal.com/roycastle.

Ends 05 November 2008

Notes to editors:

About Redeem

• Redeem plc was founded in 1999 and currently employs 70 staff across its three sites in Falkirk, Scotland; Rome, Italy and Dublin, Ireland.

• Redeem’s success has been recognised through numerous awards including six Business in the Community Big Tick Standard of Excellence Awards, Chamber Awards Business Commitment to the Community for Scotland, The Quality Scotland Corporate Citizenship Award, Scottish Business in the Community SME of the Year 2005.

• When Redeem receives unwanted phones for recycling they are graded and sold on for second hand use, frequently to developing countries where landline infrastructure is poor and mobile phones provide an essential means of communication for business and personal use.

• Phones which are unable to be resold are recycled down to their component parts, which include precious metals such as gold and silver. Printer cartridges are refilled for reuse and returned to the consumer stream as a more environmentally friendly option.

About The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation

Registered Charity England & Wales 1046854 - Scotland SCO37596, it is the only charity in the UK wholly dedicated to defeating lung cancer – the biggest cancer killer in the world. Our approach benefits current and future lung cancer sufferers alike:

• The foundation funds research programmes to detect lung cancer at a very early stage, which will save lives and is vital to the development of a future therapy.

• The foundation offers patient support, advocacy and an information network providing information, guidance and support relevant to the needs of lung cancer patients and their families.

• The foundation facilitates support groups across the UK that help sufferers to come to terms with the disease and provide patient advocacy services.

• The foundation operates ‘Quit Smoking’ services for adults (Fag Ends).

• KATS (Kids Against Tobacco Smoke) educational programme for children which encourages young people never to start smoking.

• ATYC (Anti Tobacco Youth Campaign) which gives young people a voice, knowledge and skills to campaign about smoking and other tobacco issues.

• The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation runs fundraising events and charity shops, both of which help to generate much needed voluntary donations (public and corporate), on which it relies to continue its fight to defeat lung cancer.

Contact Information

Kate Hayward

Senior Account Manager

Weber Shandwick

Contact via E-mail