A SCOTS tech business is aiming to help a cancer charity grow its community of supporters by fully funding a graduate to take up a crucial new role.
Megan Porter has been appointed Community and Events Co-Ordinator for Ayrshire Cancer Support, a post that sees her spearheading the charity’s engagement efforts with those impacted by cancer.
Eureka Solutions stepped in after learning how important the position could be to the charity for its fundraising, community events and building relationships with key stakeholders.
The company’s chairman, Alistair Livingstone, is mentoring Megan with sessions every week focusing on marketing, professional development and LinkedIn training.
Ayrshire Cancer Support is one of Scotland’s leading cancer support charities and has been working with the community since 1982, making this their 40th year of operations.
They provide free dedicated support services to those who need it, including hospital transport, drop-in centres, counselling, support groups, therapies and information provision.
The charity was also recently granted the prestigious Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in recognition of its vital work across the community.
Joining the team has been a huge opportunity for Megan who graduated with a First-Class Honours degree in Event Management from University West of Scotland last year, since she became involved with the charity in January.
She first encountered them through her grandparents who were both service users and said being able to get involved thanks to Eureka Solutions’ support had allowed her to step into a career that can really give something back.
The 22-year-old said: “I am learning something new every day, I am truly loving the role and am so grateful to Alistair and everyone at Eureka Solutions for making the opportunity with Ayrshire Cancer Support possible.
“The main piece of advice that sticks out from Alistair so far has been that it is okay to make mistakes, explaining it is fine as long as you learn from them.
“He said that asking questions is always the best way to learn, and I’ve been doing plenty of that.
“It is also great being involved with the local community, meeting new people, overseeing events and doing all I can to support my colleagues and all the volunteers who I know from experience are making a huge difference to people’s lives.”
Alistair, who also serves as a Trustee with the charity, was born and brought up in Ayrshire and later worked as a teacher in the area for 14 years before moving into business and later launching Eureka Solutions.
He said: “As a Trustee I became aware of how important this role is to Ayrshire Cancer Support.
“Megan is a terrific talent with some excellent ideas, asking great questions and really taking on board what advice I’ve been able to offer from my own career.
“I have no doubt her work will make a huge impact, building on the work this amazing charity continues to do.
“Our one-to-one sessions, the training she has access to and learning on the job in a space where every contribution is vital, will see her build on everything she learned at university in a way that will benefit Ayrshire Cancer Support for a long time to come.”
Eureka Solutions is a long-term supporter of the charity, sponsoring a range of fundraising events and also recently providing uniforms with Ayrshire Cancer Support branding for volunteers.
Alongside Megan’s new role and its day-to-day activities, the charity is currently also raising funds for a dedicated new centre in Ayr to provide vital services to people living with or affected by cancer through its Make It Happen appeal.
Eureka Solutions is a £4.5m-a-year business with 70 staff and clients across tech, sport, hospitality, non-profit, wholesale distribution, ecommerce and other sectors.
