May 16, 2017
Just like eating our leafy greens and getting plenty of fresh air and exercise, volunteering can help keep us physically healthy. Studies have found that volunteers tend to become more active, can better cope with everyday tasks and have better thinking skills. Did you know that volunteers are even less likely to develop issues like depression, obesity and high blood pressure, too! Does this want to make you want to sign up right now??
Those same studies show that engaging with our community and helping others gives us those happy endorphin’s and then the more we give, the happier we end up feeling! What a deal! With busy lives, it can be hard to find time to volunteer, but adding a little more giving for a happier life is worth the time and effort. 
Well, Island Prostate Centre is here for you – helping to make you feel better about yourself! We just happen to be looking for volunteers for the Raymond James Father’s Day Walk/Run on Sunday June 18 from 8am to noon, in roles such as Route Marshaling or helping at the Water Stations. Always remember that volunteering is even healthier for you when you’re having fun with it! We get that and that’s why we’ve got fun built right into our volunteer roles for this year’s Father’s Day event!
Here are just some of the fun benefits of volunteering with us on Father’s Day:
Your can spend time in some fresh air while cheering on runners and walkers
You can volunteer with your Dad on Father’s Day, or with a friend if you want to!
You can enjoy some live music and a free pancake breakfast
You can visit the propped-out photo booth for a portrait when you’re finished your shift
Sound like fun? Click here to volunteer for the Raymond James Father’s Day Walk/Run! We need your help and hey, we want you to be as healthy as you can be!
May 1, 2017
Did you know May 1 -7 is Mental Health Week? This national event takes to encourage people from all walks of life to learn, talk, reflect and engage with others on all issues relating to mental health.
So how does this relate to prostate cancer and the Raymond James Father’s Day Walk/Run?
Any serious illness can impact mental health. Receiving a potentially fatal diagnosis, going through treatment protocols, and learning to live with limitations can cause depression, as can side effects from some prostate cancer treatments. Island Prostate Centre is here to provide support to Vancouver Island men and their families when they are faced with a prostate cancer diagnosis.
IPC offers many free programs and supports to men and their families when they need them most. Those that have the largest impact on mental wellness our
- nurse support program
- monthly peer support meetings
- cost free psychological counselling
- volunteer led walking group
- cancer recover exercise program
It’s because of individual donors, sponsors and people like you who participate and fundraise for the Raymond James Father’s Day Walk/Run that we can offer these programs without any cost to the men who use them!.
PS and a “DID YOU KNOW” – Studies show that making donations, regardless of the size, is good for your mental health! A study by the National Institutes (in the US) monitored their subject’s brains and found that those who made donations to charities of their choice, had feel-good reactions in their brains. These happy feelings increased even more when there is an emotional attachment to a person who will benefit from the gift!
If you can’t run from it, run for it . . .run with us! Enjoy the great outdoors and boost your happy chemicals while raising funds for men with prostate cancer.
To register for the Father’s Day event, click here
Need more motivation to get involved, check out this year’s amazing prizes.
Apr 24, 2017
It’s National Volunteer Week and we just want to say thanks!
Island Prostate Centre has now been serving men and their families on Vancouver Island for 17 years. Since IPC has always had a very small staff complement, you can imagine how important our volunteers have been, and continue to be for us!
Incredibly, we have volunteers who have been with us from day one and those who have joined us more recently. Our volunteers undertake very committed roles, from providing nurse support, varied aspects of peer support to men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer, and lots of projects and activities in between.
We thank all of you! A few months ago, we posted this blog ‘You make a difference in the dash’ . Please know that your dashes have helped us in so many ways.
Lately, we’ve been spending a lot of time with our Raymond James Father’s Day Walk/Run Committee! As you know, this run is coming up on Sunday, June 18, Father’s Day. Hundreds of hours are spent by our volunteers in planning the route, organizing prizes, food, entertainment and even organizing all of the volunteers who help out on the day. Yup, even our Volunteer Coordinator is a volunteer herself.
We simply could not begin to do what we do for men and their families in our community if we didn’t have our community of volunteers supporting our efforts. Are you thinking about volunteering for our Father’s Day Walk Run this year? Click here!
And if volunteering isn’t for you, that’s okay. There are so many other ways to support Island Prostate Centre. Participating in our Raymond James Father’s Day Walk Run is one of them! Click here to register today! To make a donation in support of our event, please visit our website.
Apr 17, 2017
Hi. My name is Owen and I am 9 and a half years old.
My Poppa is one of the most important people in my life and I love him so very much. Four years ago my Poppa was told he had prostate cancer.
I wanted to help my Poppa, so I decided to start fundraising for the Island Prostate Centre through the Raymond James Father’s Day Walk/Run. I have tried lots of different things for fundraising: I did not ask for birthday presents or Christmas presents, instead I asked my friends, family and even Santa to please donate money for Poppa’s cancer. I have done lemonade stands, sold Popcorn for Poppa and Freezies for Fathers. Every month I take our bottles to the bottle depot and the money I get I donate.
The doctors need to find a way to make Poppa’s cancer go away, and all the other cancer in the world. I want Poppa’s cancer to go away because I
love him very much. I want him to stay alive so he can see me grow up to be a big, strong man like him.
When I started fundraising, my goal was to raise $1000 and now four years later I have raised over $15,000!!!
Sometimes kids think they can’t make a difference in the world but we can. We have the power to make peoples lives better. Being kind, smiling and being friendly are all good ways to help the world. I would like to challenge all the kids out there who know someone affected by prostate cancer to step up and do some fundraising. It can be lots of fun and helpful at the same time! Let’s prove to all the grown ups, that kids care and want to make the world a better place!
I need your help so together we can defeat cancer. I am not going to stop fundraising until there is a cure for cancer. I want to help people and I need your help! So please, won’t you help me?
Apr 10, 2017
We know we 
can’t run from prostate cancer so we are running for it!
April has finally arrived in Victoria and along with the blossoms (finally!) and warmer air (well, sometimes!) comes the preparation and training for the Raymond James Father’s Day W
alk/Run.
Did you know that our Early Bird price of $30 is open until April 18! Please run with us!
Running with us means that Island Prostate Centre can continue to deliver our top quality prostate survivorship programs. You are helping to empower men and their families to make the right treatment and health decisions for them and their families. When you run with us, you are surround by like-minded people who are running or walking for the same reason you are! One in Eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year – and you are raising valuable funds for IPC while doing it. Need help with some ideas of getting your fundraising going, click here for some really easy tips!
Running with us might not feel like you are saving lives, but tell that to Mike Heit! Your fundraising supports our early screening program. If Mik
e hadn’t attended our Country Grocer Men’s Health Day last September, he would not have known that for him, prostate cancer treatment was needed immediately.
Running just for running’s sake may not be enough reason to tie up those running shoes, but raising valuable funds for IPC might be great motivator to maintain your running/walking training plan! To put some fun into your fundraising, we have an amazing list of incentives from supporters in our community who care about men and the services available to them. Check it out!
If you are running with us for a very special reason, please share with us as your story may inspire others to participate. Remember, the early bird registration ends April 18 and with $150 raised, you can run with us on Father’s Day at no cost!
If you can’t run from it, run for it . . . run with us! Register today!
Apr 6, 2017
Mar
k your calendars for Tuesday, April 11th as Dr. Peter Black, Urologist from the Vancouver Prostate Centre, will be the guest speaker at our Prostate Cancer Support Group.
He will be addressing the topic “Pet Scans for Prostate Cancer”.
7:00 pm at Begbie Hall, everyone is welcome.
To view past monthly support group presentations, please click here
