| Hello! |
| It has been an exceptionally busy few months here at Tackle Central, so apologies for the tardiness of this briefing. Most of this month’s newsletter is taken up with the outputs from the conference in Birmingham on April 1st. Given it was April 1st, the day went very smoothly, and only one April Fool’s joke was made as far as I know. Dave Riley from East Lancs group told me he was upgraded to a suite at his hotel, and given the room for free (at least I think it was an April Fool joke!)In other news, John from the Dodgy Walnut is launching a national online group for working aged newly diagnosed people, we have a shout out to our London Marathon runners, Joe and Paul, and a plea for you, or your children or grandchildren to sign up for one of our 5 places on the Great North Run in September. Finally, we have news of the APPG, Proactive for your Prostate campaign and new information sheets on the Members Portal ,including one on community bank accounts. As we approach the bank holiday weekend, we wish you all a peaceful, sunny, and relaxing long weekend. We look forward to seeing you all at our next Monthly Support Group Meeting, scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on May 6th. We will send out the Zoom link the week before, so please keep an eye out.Until then,Sarah and the Tackle Team |
| Highlights from the 2025 Tackle Annual Conference |
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| The 2025 Annual Conference brought together a remarkable group of 86 support group leaders, volunteers, and partners for a day of insight, connection and shared purpose. Thanks to the generous backing of Bayer, Clinisupplies, and Johnson & Johnson, we were able to deliver a high-quality, professionally staged event – all on a local charity’s budget. Held for the first time at Austin Court in central Birmingham, in a welcoming and accessible venue, the atmosphere was both energising and supportive. Thank you to all who completed the evaluation forms. Attendees were clear in their feedback: “It was informative, emotional, and empowering – everything a great conference should be.” “Fantastic opportunity – I was so inspired listening to the talks and speaking to the (Support Group) Leads from throughout the UK.” We’re proud that 100% of survey respondents said they would attend again, and over 95% rated the day as extremely or somewhat useful. Workshops That Delivered Real Value This year’s breakout sessions offered fresh thinking and practical takeaways: Sharing Best Practice, with Dave Wardell, tackled safeguarding, confidentiality, and inclusivity. The session was described as both engaging and thought-provoking, encouraging many leaders to reflect on and update their current policies. Some of the feedback on Dave’s session: “Dave made a difficult topic engaging and fun – well done!” “We’ll be reviewing our safeguarding policy straight away after that session.” Collaboration and Group Development, led by Stuart Wain, explored ways to strengthen and grow local groups. Attendees praised the session for its creativity and relevance to their day-to-day work. People found Stuart’s workshop a “Very creative session that got us all thinking,” and commented that “Stuart was very personable and supported open, constructive debate.” Proactive for Your Prostate, presented by David James, left a lasting impression. One group leader noted: “David’s storytelling resonated with the room – I joined the campaign the very next day.” A Year of Progress and Impact Over the past 12 months, Tackle’s small and dedicated team has worked tirelessly to support our national network. We’ve expanded support into underrepresented areas, co-developed digital resources like our website template, and delivered key campaigns, including Let’s Talk About It and promoted the excellent campaign from PCR -Proactive for Your Prostate. We’ve also deepened our focus on equity and inclusion through projects tailored for Black men, LGBTQIA+ communities, and those with limited access to local peer support, including working-aged men. This breadth of work has only been possible through collaboration with our volunteers, local group leaders and volunteers – and it was a privilege to celebrate these efforts together at the conference. As one attendee summed it up: “It was informative, emotional, and empowering – everything a great conference should be.” Looking Ahead Next year’s conference will take place on Tuesday, 24 March 2026, and we warmly encourage all support group leaders to attend. Whether you’re new to Tackle or a long-standing member, the day offers valuable insight, inspiration and connection. To see the Review of the Year slides from this year’s conference, please visit the Members Portal. Huge thanks to Tam, Graham, Cynthia, and Sanjiv, who volunteered to be filmed on the day. You can see their contributions and other snippets of the conference by following the link to our YouTube channel below. Thank you once again to everyone who contributed to making the 2025 event such a success. We look forward to seeing you all again next year. |
| Group Spotlight |
 You may have read about the Dodgy Walnut in the latest edition of Prostate Matters and on our website. Following the successful launch of this group, John has heard from several working-age people across the country who are in need of peer support. This has inspired him to establish an online group specifically for working-age individuals. Please promote this exciting new initiative to your members through your groups. We hope that it will encourage the development of new face-to-face groups for working-age people. If you are interested in setting up a satellite group for working-aged men, please get in touch with us. |
| Campaigns |
 Join Our Movement: Become a Proactive AmbassadorTackle is proud to be a Proactive Champion in the national Proactive For Your Prostate campaign—a bold initiative pushing for a targeted screening programme for prostate cancer. With the UK National Screening Committee set to decide by the end of 2025, we must act now. The current “informed choice” model is failing. We’re calling for immediate screening for men over 45 at higher risk and pilot programmes for advanced diagnostic tools like AI-assisted MRI and Stockholm3 tests. Our collective voice is crucial to influence this long-overdue change. We are urging our Support Group Leaders to step up as Proactive Ambassadors—local champions who can advocate in their communities, engage MPs, share personal stories, and raise public awareness. Decisions are made locally, and real stories move policymakers. By taking just one action each month, you can help build the momentum needed to secure life-saving screening for thousands of men. This month, we are asking that you write to your MP and encourage them to support the campaign, to attend and sign up to the APPG on Prostate Cancer. Sign up, download the campaign toolkit, and let’s work together to flood MPs’ inboxes, win public support, and make targeted screening a reality. The time for action is now. Become a Proactive Ambassador today. |
| Hot Topics |
 Please find Hot Topics for March and April by following the link below. |
| Members Portal |
| Have you checked out the new resources on our Members Portal? This month we have responded to concerns that some banks are closing access for community groups looking for bank accounts. Our updated Community Bank Accounts sheet gives you information on which banks continue to provide accounts to community groups as well as accounts for larger groups who are charities. A WhatsApp Group can be a great way to continue to provide support to your members in between meetings. Of course, it also allows group leaders to share any updates ahead of the next meeting. To ensure you follow best practice with running a WhatsApp group, we have complied a WhatsApp Guide You will also found a new WhatsApp guide. Many group leaders have set up WhatsApp groups, and there are important rules you need to consider when adding people. If you have lost your login details for the portal, get in touch and Kelly can remind you. And if you have any documents that you feel would be useful to other support group leaders in running their groups, please do share with us and we can upload them to the portal. |
| Show your Support for our London Marathon Runners |
 Next week, on April 27th, two of our wonderful Trustees, Joe and Paul (pictured here along with Tony and Shiv) will be running the London Marathon. For Joe, it will be his first marathon, and for Paul, it will be his first since his prostatectomy last year, so the marathon is going to be a huge challenge for him. Paul knows firsthand how they can be a lifeline for those impacted and diagnosed by prostate cancer.Joe is taking his fundraising efforts to the next level. He has recently organised a Golf Day, and the marathon is his next challenge. Joe recently said “Since becoming a Trustee of the charity I’ve been inspired by the great work Tackle does across the UK, supporting those affected by Prostate Cancer. It’s also opened my eyes though to how much there is still to do. Raising money means we can advocate for better treatment, services and care to support those navigating through this difficult journey” You can support us through Joe’s Just Giving page here and you can show your support to us through Paul by donating anything you can here. And finally, if you, your group members, friends or family feel up to completing a similar challenge. We have five spaces available at the prestigious Great North Run on September 7th. Please contact Andrew if you would like more information. |
