
FirstGroup
With FirstGroup - the UK’s leading public transport provider - we’ve raised vital awareness of prostate cancer through gift in kind advertising and pocket guide resources.
Starting lifesaving journeys with the UK's number one public transport provider
As the charity partner of the PDC World Darts Championship, we've teamed up with tournament sponsors Paddy Power to save men’s lives.
This showpiece event at London’s Alexandra Palace has become one of the unmissable moments of the sporting calendar – and for the last two years, prostate cancer has been a big part of the story.
That’s thanks to the remarkable success of Paddy Power’s lifesaving awareness campaigns, The BIG 180 (2023/24) and The BIGGER 180 (2024/25). Throughout every day of the World Darts Championship, they’ve helped to put prostate cancer in the spotlight and get record numbers of men finding out about their risk.
Over the two years, the campaigns have raised more than £2 million to support our work. They've also helped us share our message with men we could never have reached on our own, with over 325,000 darts fans taking the 30-second online risk checker on our website.
A partnership that's exceeded all expectations
Paddy Power pledged to donate £1,000 for every 180 scored, with the coveted Ballon d’Art trophy up for grabs for the player with the most maximums. And for The BIGGER 180 they went even further, offering a massive £180,000 bonus for every nine-darter – that’s £60,000 to the player who landed the perfect checkout, £60,000 to one lucky darts fan in the Ally Pally crowd and a further £60,000 to support lifesaving prostate cancer research.
Alongside the phenomenal fundraising, Paddy Power have helped us get our message out to millions more men – kickstarting a national conversation about men’s health and encouraging sports fans to check their risk in record numbers.
As the biggest names in darts took to the oche, we also had the backing of another sporting legend, Olympic gold medallist Sir Chris Hoy, who threw his support behind the campaign. One of Britain’s most iconic sportsmen, Sir Chris revealed his terminal prostate cancer diagnosis in 2024 and urged men to “get on the front foot” by checking their risk.

Employee fundraising, corporate donations and gift in kind advertising
Right now, there’s no national screening programme inviting men for regular, accurate tests. And as a result, too many men are being diagnosed too late – when the disease is harder to treat.
Paddy Power are helping us change this. Because their multi-million-pound donation will support our groundbreaking research trial, TRANSFORM. It’s the biggest prostate cancer screening trial for 20 years and will help us find the best way to diagnose prostate cancer early, paving the way for a screening programme that could save thousands of lives every year.
With Paddy Power as a founding partner in TRANSFORM, The BIG 180 and The BIGGER 180 have helped move us one big step closer to a world where all men at risk are invited for regular, accurate tests.
A key aim of our partnership is to ensure FirstGroup’s employees, customers and the wider community know their risk of prostate cancer, raising awareness of the disease and the support available from the charity. I’m proud of the enthusiasm and passion that so many of our employees have shown for fundraising and supporting Prostate Cancer UK. It is truly inspiring.”