A MAJOR retail pharmacy chain’s charitable arm has launched the Ribbon of Hope Charity Pledge Campaign in collaboration with the National Cancer Council (Makna).
Through the initiative, the Big Caring Foundation has pledged RM100,000 to support cancer care, early detection, and education programmes for underserved communities across Malaysia.
It aims to support up to 1,000 eligible women from the B40 community with access to early breast cancer screening through expanded outreach, awareness and intervention efforts.
“Cancer remains one of the leading health concerns in Malaysia, yet access to screening and awareness programmes is not always readily available, particularly among underserved communities,” said Big Caring Group chief marketing officer Wong Siew Lai.
“Through the campaign, the foundation hopes to encourage greater participation in early detection efforts while helping more individuals access timely screening opportunities.
“By bringing together our customers, supplier partners and Makna, we can collectively help more communities take proactive steps towards better health,” said Wong.
The campaign is part of Ribbon of Hope CSR – a signature Big Caring Foundation programme supporting B40 cancer patients through partnerships focused on cancer awareness, early detection, education and patient care.
It is guided by its C.A.R.E. pillars namely counselling; affordable medications and accessible services; rehabilitation and recovery resources and early detection and risk reduction.
Ribbon of Hope takes a holistic approach to supporting patients and their families throughout the cancer journey.
From now until Dec 31, customers can contribute by purchasing products at Big Pharmacy and Caring Pharmacy stores nationwide.
Participating brands include Blackmores, Great Tree, Herbs of Gold, Kordel’s, Syncolife, SwissMed and VitaHealth.
These brands will contribute a portion of proceeds from selected products to the campaign, while Big Caring Foundation will match every contribution raised.
Funds raised will support Makna’s efforts in cancer care, early detection and education, helping expand access to screening and awareness programmes for communities in need.
“At Makna, our mission has always been to ensure that no one faces cancer alone or without access to proper care,” said Makna deputy general manager Vemanna Appannah.
“We warmly welcome Big Caring Foundation’s RM100,000 pledge and matching initiative.
“Corporate support of this scale is vital in closing the cancer care gap and ultimately saving lives,” he added.
Established in 1994, Makna has supported nearly 90,000 underprivileged cancer patients, benefitted over 105,000 people through cancer screening programmes and reached more than 132,000 participants through cancer awareness initiatives nationwide.
For details, visit Caring Pharmacy and Big Pharmacy on their social media pages.
