A typical University Ambassador ‘cycle’ runs from August to August, giving the student a year’s opportunity to take ownership of their role before handing it over to a newly appointed ambassador. However, due to the success of OddBalls, in January 2021 we proudly expanded our University Ambassador Programme by appointing another 16 ambassadors – doubling in size! Thanks to the continued support from OddBalls, we now have a diverse team of 50 University Ambassadors across the UK & Ireland, all from different ethnic backgrounds, with different genders and sexual orientations. Cancer does not discriminate, so being able to represent everybody is extremely important to us.

Testicular Cancer is unusual compared with other cancers because it tends to affect younger men; in fact, it is the most common type of cancer to affect men between the ages of 15 – 49. Having university students as our ambassadors is a powerful, relatable, and memorable way of evoking the conversation and encouraging young men to check themselves. Each University Ambassador has a responsibility to meet several different objectives to raise awareness of Testicular Cancer throughout the year. The main responsibilities include delivering Testicular Cancer Awareness presentations at schools, colleges, universities, businesses, as well as other organisations; distributing our Check Yourself Guides (CYG) and Check Yourself Cushions (CYC) into different locations and communal spaces across their city, hometowns, and university facilities.

As a team of 50 University Ambassadors, we are committed to delivering over 825 OddBalls presentations, distributing over 30,000 CYGs and CYCs, and reaching over 125,000 people through our talks each year. Also, each ambassador will be expected to organise a fundraising or awareness event within their university, city, or hometown - November (Men’s Health Month) and April (Testicular Cancer Awareness Month) are always BUSY!

We aim to continue to grow the University Ambassador Programme into as many different universities across the UK & Ireland as possible in the coming years and have long term aspirations to set up the University Ambassador Programme internationally! It is an exciting time for The OddBalls Foundation, and we will continue to educate young people on the basics of Testicular Cancer, whilst supporting people through their experiences with Testicular Cancer.