This month sees International Men's Health Week (12-18 June), so we're shining a spotlight on the great work of The Oddballs Foundation, which is the UK’s leading charity for raising awareness around testicular cancer. We had a catch up with fundraising manager Kieran Kelly… 
 

[HORNCHURCH CC] [HCC]
Hi Kieran! Tell us a little about you? 

[Kieran Kelly] [KK] I got involved back in 2017 during my time at the University of Exeter. I represented the cause, as one of the first university ambassadors for two years. Upon graduating, I approached the charity's trustees about employment and I fortunately managed to create a full-time role for myself.


[HCC] What inspires you? 
 
[KK] A quote I discovered from William Ernest Henley’s Invictus, when growing up, has been a key inspiration behind many of my actions, both professionally and personally. The quote goes: “I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.” How I perceive this statement is around personal responsibility, hard work and controlling what you can in your life. 
There are a number of people who truly inspire me. However, my family have always been hugely influential in any success I’ve had. My Dad always says: “You get out what you put in.” Effort is an invaluable currency. 
 

[HCC] What do you do outside work? 
 
[KK] I play semi-professional rugby for Old Redcliffians RFC in National League Two West, and I dabble in CrossFit. Rugby has provided me with a wealth of once-in-a-lifetime experiences to travel the world, explore new places and meet many wonderful people along the way. Connecting with people through sport has always been my main passion. 


[HCC] What is The Oddballs Foundation?
 
[KK] Established in 2015, The OddBalls Foundation is the UK's leading charity raising awareness of testicular cancer. We educate people on the basics of the illness and encourage regular self-checking to promote early diagnosis; ultimately, saving lives.


[HCC] What drives you and your team? 

[KK] There are a couple of key facts that really drive our important work. Firstly, testicular cancer is the most common cancer affecting men and people with testicles between the ages of 15 to 49 in the UK. Secondly, it's one of the most curable forms of cancer when detected early. Emphasis on early. There's an evident stigma associated with talking about our balls. That’s very clear. People tend to feel awkward and shy away from the conversation or try and laugh it off. 
As a team, our aim is to confront that stigma and address the topic with as many different people as possible. We want to educate in the hope that people become more accepting and confident when speaking about their health. 


[HCC] Tell us a success story?

[KK] As a team we aim to deliver close to 1,000 testicular cancer awareness talks each year, hoping to reach more than 150,000 people. We regularly receive messages or speak with people who have heard one of our sessions. They say how they've discovered a change or have concerns with either one of their testicles and sought help from a doctor to get things checked out. 

Nothing makes us more proud to hear people are proactively taking action with their concerns. The hardest step can often be the initial outreach to a doctor to get checked. However, we often hear that people feel like a massive weight has been lifted from their shoulders once they’ve shared their concern. A problem shared is a problem halved. 
 

[HCC] In what ways do you put social media to good use?
 
[KK] Social media platforms are an incredible tool for charities. For the most part, they are free and you can reach hundreds of thousands of people through building a strong community, and providing worthwhile content that can be easily digested. Some of our most powerful content is when we share people’s experience with testicular cancer and hear how it's affected them and their families. Sharing different people’s stories shows you how cancer can affect everyone differently, and we’ve been fortunate to share some incredible advice that has helped others. A re-occurring bit of advice seems to be how important it is to have a strong support network around you when battling cancer. It sounds obvious, but it is so true.
We are always keen to explore different social media campaigns to help breakdown the stigma and reach different communities. So, if anyone is ever interested in working with The OddBalls Foundation, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.


[HCC] A report conducted by Cancer Research UK shows incidence rates of testicular cancer are projected to fall by 6% in the UK between 2023-2025. How positive is this news?
 
[KK] It’s brilliant news. Indicating that on the whole people are becoming more self-aware and taking action with any concerns. You can’t really ask for much more. In all honesty, our message is very straightforward. We encourage people to check themselves on a monthly basis, familiarise themselves with what feels normal for them, and be proactive with any concerns by speaking to a doctor. 
 

[HHC] What impact does events like International Men's Health Week have on your work?

[KK] International Men’s Health Week, along with Movember (emphasis on men’s health) and April (Testicular Cancer Awareness Month), is fantastic for highlighting the topic and bringing the subject of men's health into the forefront of people’s conversations and thinking. We certainly see an increase in people wanting to receive our educational resources and book talks with us, as well as invite us to events. Which is amazing. However, men’s health and testicular cancer awareness is a subject we need to be addressing all-year-round. 
 

[HCC] How did last month's (May) Oddballs Foundation Festival go?

[KK] The OddBalls Foundation Festival is our big annual event. It’s essentially a one-day sports and music festival where we invite men’s and women’s rugby and hockey teams to compete in various competitions. All in aid of raising awareness for testicular cancer. For the past two years we have hosted the event alongside Nottingham Rugby and it’s been hugely successful. This year we had close to 3,000 people attending and the numbers are increasing each year, which is very cool to see. 
 

[HCC] What else does the charity have lined up?

[KK] A big part of our summer work is onboarding our new 50 university ambassadors ahead of the 2023-24 academic year. Our University Ambassador Programme is one of our main initiatives. All 50 university ambassadors across the UK & Ireland are from different ethnic backgrounds, with different genders and sexual orientations. Cancer does not discriminate, so being able to represent everybody is extremely important to us. Our ambassadors are committed to delivering testicular cancer awareness talks in schools, colleges and the workplace, as well as distributing our check yourself guides and hosting awareness / fundraising events. It’s a massive projects and it allows us to reach hundreds of thousands of people across the world.
 

[HCC] What would you like to see more of?

[KK] I would like to put more emphasis on our corporate partnerships and provide more exclusive opportunities for organisations to work closely with The OddBalls Foundation. If any organisations are interested in hearing more about these opportunities, please drop me an email: Kieran@myoddballs.com. I’d love to hear from you.
Seeing the growth and success of The OddBalls Foundation Festival over the years, we are exploring different community events that we can host to bring people together and, ultimately, chat balls! An event that regularly gets suggested by our followers is a charity golf day. It’s something we are considering.
 

[HCC] What gives you hope?
 
[KK] I'm hopeful that we can continue to provide more and more opportunities for people to get involved with The OddBalls Foundation through various ambassadorship projects. I truly believe that every contact counts, so we always try and put a smile on someone’s face when they interact with the charity. You never know how that may positively affect someone’s day or their life. 


[HCC] Lastly, how can people show support?
 
[KK] People can do the simple things like give us a follow on our social media platforms (@oddballsfdn), engage with our content and events, and encourage their family and friends to check themselves on a monthly basis. If people are wanting to organise a free testicular cancer awareness talk for their school, college, university, club or workplace, we love visiting these different organisations and sparking up those important conversations. So please don’t hesitate to contact us directly at Hello@TheOddBallsFoundation.com. 
Alternatively, if people are wanting to fundraise for The OddBalls Foundation, we welcome everyone and all charity event ideas. We’d love to support you in making a real difference.