Re-branding as Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust

In 2010 Jo’s Trust, established by James Maxwell in memory of his wife, Jo, celebrated its 10 year anniversary. For 10 years we had been reaching out to women and their families affected by cervical cancer and, increasingly, women with cervical abnormalities. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to reflect on what we had achieved together and strategically plan for the next 10 years and beyond.

Part of that process of reflecting and planning was to take a good look at how we, the UK’s only charity dedicated to those with cervical cancer, were viewed by us, the organisation and trustees, and all those connected to us as stakeholders. We approached women coming to use the web site, we spoke to our users, fundraisers, funders, our Founding Friends, supporters and, importantly, to Jo and Jamie Maxwell’s family. How did they feel about Jo’s Trust? What did they think about us? What did they see as our achievements and areas for improvement?

Through a series of surveys and discussions, and working with a designer and an experienced branding expert who kindly donated their time, we were able to reach the following conclusions;

• The services that we were supplying to women and their families were strong, providing vital, relevant and effective support and information about cervical cancer and cervical abnormalities.
• We needed to be clearer about who we are and what we do for those who would either potentially need our services or for those who would assist us in achieving our goals as an organisation.
• We needed to be visually more appealing in order to be seen as a leading authority on cervical cancer, reflecting our expertise in our field. This would also assist in helping us to reach many more women, have a potentially greater impact on policies and, importantly, raising awareness.
• The mission of the charity wouldn’t change, but we needed to grow and improve.
• We were in a position to reach and support more women than ever before if we made appropriate changes.

With these conclusions in mind, and in line with our strategic plan, we became Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust from 1st May 2010. This will leave absolutely no confusion as to what we, as an organisation, represent and who we help.

Along with this change in name, we have taken on a fresh look and feel, which will help us achieve that aim to reach and support more women. This new look will assist us in launching a range of new services, provide even better information and ensure that we appeal to a wider group of individuals and organisations, including members, supporters, government, NHS experts and funders. It will identify us as the forward thinking, energetic charity that we have always been.

We passionately believe our new image will help us achieve greater success. This is essential as there is more we need to do. Nearly 3 women a day still die from cervical cancer, another 8 women are diagnosed every day, cervical screening uptake is waning and public understanding of cervical cancer, how it is caused and can be prevented is still far too low. Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust is looking forward to building on the last 10 years and making an even greater success over the next decade.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact us at info@jostrust.org.uk.