In May, Direct Medics took on the Charity Shops’ Challenge for the first year in aid of Cancer Focus Northern Ireland with Business in the Community Northern Ireland, taking over the Newtownards Cancer Focus shop for a day packed with fundraising, fun and community spirit. Read more on what we got up to today and how much we raised.

On 29th May 2026, we competed against 12 other companies to try and raise the most money for Cancer Focus NI in the Charity Shops’ Challenge – Our Health & Wellbeing theme came to life on the day through an epic Spinathon, where our team cycled an incredible 145 miles 🚴, healthy fruit cups 🍎 and a UV Skin Scanner to help raise awareness of the importance of sun protection ☀️

The fun didn’t stop there! Throughout the day, we hosted a raffle, a supermarket sweep challenge where our staff showcased sustainable fashion using items on the shelves in the shop, and a dedicated kids’ corner featuring a colouring competition, face painting and balloon animals. 🎨🎈

A huge thank you to our amazing staff who gave up their time to make the day such a success, our generous prize donors, local grocer Homegrown for supplying the fruit, Michelle and the team at the Cancer Focus shop in Newtownards for all their support, and everyone who stopped by and made a donation.

We had the pleasure of attending the Charity Shops’ Challenge awards ceremony, in association with Business in the Community NI at the Malone Golf Club, and we’re delighted to share the results of our efforts!

✨ We placed 4th out of 12 competing shops for fundraising the most money, raising an incredible £4,180!

🏆 We won the Best Shop Theme Award! Our Health & Wellbeing theme was brought to life throughout the day through our window display, fruit cup sales, spinathon, UV skin scanner, and a range of other activities that reflected Cancer Focus NI’s healthy living initiatives.

⭐ We received a special mention Sustainable Style Award, recognised for our sustainability efforts! Thanks to Carla Reid & Chris Egan for putting together outfits from the Cancer Focus Newtownards shop and helping us showcase sustainable clothing. 🌱

🏆 The Team Star Award was won by Nicole Clarke in recognition of her outstanding contributions and the key role she played in making the challenge such a success! 👏

Across all 12 shops, the challenge raised a huge £47,500 for Cancer Focus Northern Ireland! 🙌

A massive thank you to everyone who contributed to making this challenge such a success & helped us make a real positive difference in supporting cancer patients and their families across Northern Ireland. 💙