Envest Supports Aussie Cancer Research Via ACT Grants
Two Australian cancer charities will each receive £5,000 (approx. AUD $9,400) as recipients of ACT (Ardonagh Community Trust) grants.
ACT is the not-for-profit arm of The Ardonagh Group, the UK-based parent company of Envest.
Envest’s EDA and Aviso Broking businesses secured the funding for their chosen charities – the Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation – Caidan’s Reach Project and RUN DIPG, with successful submissions from team members Con Tsobanpoulos (EDA) and Luke Eagle (Aviso Broking) to the global Ardonagh giving program.
Envest CEO Greg Mullins said, “working in the insurance business, we’re uniquely connected to helping people and communities. The ACT program is a great example of how Ardonagh is supporting us to create positive impact in Australia.”
The grants will go towards lifesaving research for two cancers impacting Aussie kids.
PETER MACCALLUM CANCER FOUNDATION, CAIDAN’S REACH PROJECT
Supporting innovative genomics testing to help patients with sarcoma, an emerging cancer prevalent in adolescents and young adults, Caidan’s Reach is a project backed by the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, in honour of the life of Caidan.
The cause is closely connected to EDA’s Con Tsobanpoulos, Caidan’s uncle. Caidan was just 22 when she passed away from a rare form of sarcoma.
The ACT grant will go towards genomics testing, to understand how genes change to cause the illness. This information is then used to develop specific, targeted drugs for that particular cancer.
“Caidan was in her first year of being a primary school teacher when she passed away and wanted to leave a legacy to help other young people who became stricken by this rare cancer. I’m so proud to be raising money to help young people battling this and hopefully one day find a cure.” Con Tsobanpoulos, EDA
DIPG (diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma) is a rare, fast-growing and fatal brain tumour, diagnosed in children. Currently, there are no treatments, but RUN DIPG are on a mission to find one. The RUN DIPG charity was founded in memory of Josephine, who was diagnosed at just two years old and passed away two years later. Aviso’s Luke Eagle, Josephine’s uncle, is a founding member of the charity.
The ACT grant will fund six weeks of vital research at the University of Newcastle. Over the past five years, the research group have discovered and tested two experimental therapies and continued research is essential to progress towards finding a treatment.
“Having experienced the devastation this has on a family firsthand; this cause is very close to my heart. My involvement with RUN DIPG remains ongoing, as we have not yet found a therapy that provides kids a chance at better survival or that provides hope to families in such a hopeless situation – but with projects like this, I hope we will get there.” Luke Eagle, Aviso Broking
The ACT grant program has awarded over £600,000 in funding and supported more than 150 causes nominated by Ardonagh employees since 2017. These two grants mark the first awarded to Australian causes since Ardonagh acquired Envest in February 2023.
Ardonagh Group CEO and ACT Trustee David Ross said: “People talk most about the soul of Ardonagh – it’s the one thing you can’t fake in any company. At the heart of ours has always been a compulsion to stand up and be counted in our local communities when people need us.”
ACT amplifies the local efforts of Ardonagh colleagues through six inclusive and accessible actions: Match Funding, Volunteering, Community Grants, Charity Partnerships, Sustainability and a Bright Future Prize.
For more information: www.ardonaghtrust.org
