A series of community meetings are to be held around Central Otago next month, to connect families and potential volunteers with Cancer Society staff.
Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago community manager Tara Strahan said some people thought the Cancer Society was restricted to promoting sunblock and Daffodil Day.
"But we really are here for supporting families and helping navigate their way through [cancer]," she said.
The Cancer Society could support patients and families emotionally and practically, by helping them co-ordinate services which would be most helpful at the time.
"People think we get an automatic referral to everyone that has cancer, but we don’t. People often comment that they wish they had known about our service earlier."
While hospitals did a great job of treating people, families often needed more emotional, pyschosocial and practical support.
"That is where we come in — we are on the ground and local, connected to our amazing communities," Ms Strahan said.
Community co-ordinator Alice Sutcliffe said to raise community awareness of the support the Cancer Society provided, they were holding community get-togethers.
"These will be an opportunity to meet your local team and find out more about what we do and how we can support families in Central Otago, as well as the chance for new and existing volunteers to get together and connect," she said.
The meetings will be held across Central Otago on Wednesday, June 12.
- St John’s Hall, Cromwell, 10am-11am
- Community House, Alexandra, 12 noon-1pm
- Memorial Hall, Roxburgh, 2.30pm-3.30pm
