Pictured: Amy Grieve, Becky Chapple, Heather Peebles, Kirsty Morrison and Caitlin McDonald.
Jog for Jugs, the viral campaign raising breast cancer awareness and funds for the charity CoppaFeel!, has smashed its cheeky new target of £8,008 within just five days of the campaign going live.
As a result, founder Becky Chapple (28), a regional manager for Amazon, and her fellow ‘Titty Committee’ have now ramped up the target to an ambitious new total of £18,008.
Since its launch on Saturday 10th April, the campaign has spread like wildfire, with over 450 participants now contributing to the JustGiving page and nominating their friends to do the same.
As Jog for Jugs’ original target of £1,000 was hit in just two short hours, Becky is confident that the new target can also be reached:
“We couldn’t be more grateful to everyone who has already donated, and we’re beyond excited to see what happens next.
“When we originally planned the campaign over a socially-distanced glass or two of wine, £8,008 going towards CoppaFeel! was our wildest dream.
“To reach that number in just five days is beyond anything we expected, and we’re hopeful that as more joggers nominate their friends, we’ll hit our new target.
“We’ve been thrilled to see so many ‘Check Yourselfies’ – for us, the really important thing is that everyone learns how to check their boobs or pecs for changes, and does so regularly.”
Jog for Jugs launched on Saturday 10th April with a video starring national treasure Lorraine Kelly and a host of other famous faces including Lee McKenzie, Emma-Louise Connolly and Joanna Vanderham.
Since then, the video has been widely shared across social media and has been viewed a massive 110,000 times.
The idea for the campaign emerged as during lockdown, Becky received the unfortunate news that her mum Susan had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Thankfully, the signs were caught early, and swift treatment has meant that her future looks bright.
However, after researching the disease over the course of her mum’s treatment, Becky discovered that 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in their lives, and that regardless of gender everybody should be checking themselves regularly.
Becky and her friends devised Jog for Jugs to shine a spotlight on the issue and to help reduce the stigma of talking about boobs.
Participants in the campaign are encouraged to jog/walk/cycle/swim/SUP 8km, to donate £8 to the dedicated JustGiving page, to nominate 8 pals to do the same and – most importantly – to share a ‘Check Yourselfie’ on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook with the hashtag #JogforJugs, to represent getting into the habit of regularly checking boobs or pecs for concerning changes.
The campaign is particularly timely due to the recent news that 2 in 5 people have been too scared to visit their doctor due to Covid-19, and CoppaFeel! is deeply concerned that this will result in a flurry of late-stage diagnoses once lockdown restrictions are fully lifted.
