NOMINATOR

Name: Ian O'Reilly
Job Title: Community Fundraiser
Organisation: Irish Cancer Society

NOMINEE

• Background and Extent of fundraising undertaken: Following the tragic loss of her daughter Sharon in February 2008 to melanoma skin cancer, Bernie has made it her personal mission to raise money and awareness to fight back against cancer.  Rallying friends and family of Sharon, the Leixlip mum set up the Melanoma Trust.  The trust has combined their love of walking and outside pursuits to raise money for the Irish Cancer Societies Sun smart programme.  Events they have taken part include walking the Wicklow way and sheep's head way as well as recruiting women from their local community to take part in the women's mini marathon.  In over just a year, they have helped raise €55,000 for the Irish Cancer Society.

• Distinctiveness of the effort: As well as fundraising, Bernie has helped support the Irish Cancer Society through her grassroots advocacy work.  She helped set up the website www.melanomatrust.com to digitally communicate how skin cancers can be prevented, detected and treated.  Whilst walking the sheep's head walk in County Cork, an area with some of the highest incident rates of skin cancer in Ireland, Bernie and her group handed out 'sun smart packs' and sun cream to help educate the local community about the dangers of the sun.

• Longevity: Bernie started fundraising for the Irish Cancer Society in 2008.  In that time, she has attended many internal training courses and brought new volunteers in to the organisation, who now volunteers on other fundraising campaigns.

• Innovation: Bernie has done a lot of relationship building with organisations outside of the Irish Cancer society.  She has built a strong relationship with La Roche Posay, the sun cream manufacturer and helped advocate in her local community for chemists to only stock sun cream with an SPF 15 or higher.  She has become a regular on the circuit of public talks held in this field of cancer and is a great representative of the Irish Cancer Society.  Bernie has also given talks and advice in her community about skin cancer and the need to be sunsmart.

• Leading by example: Bernie has been an inspiration.  She has been able to take a personal tragedy and turn it in to something positive.  She is well regarded in her local community and often asked for advice for issues regarding skin cancer.  Bernie shows a genuine enthusiasm for the fundraising she undertakes and does so with a warm and compassionate personality.  Bernie is very deserving of this award.