The Invicta Community Fund has awarded a grant to support the continued operation of the My Breast Friend app, helping to cover essential running costs and hosting as the platform expands its reach.
The funding will ensure the app remains accessible, secure and free to users, providing a stable foundation for its ongoing development and allowing the team behind it to focus on increasing awareness and encouraging long-term behavioural change around breast health.
The Invicta Community Fund was established to provide meaningful support to local charities and initiatives that make a tangible difference within the Guernsey community, with a particular focus on projects that deliver lasting impact. Since its launch, the fund has supported a range of organisations across the island, reflecting Invicta’s long-standing commitment to community engagement and charitable giving.
Invicta CEO Jim Elliott said: “We are proud to support My Breast Friend through this grant. The Community Foundation is focused on backing initiatives that deliver meaningful and lasting value to the island, and this app is a powerful example of that. By supporting its ongoing running costs, we’re helping to ensure a simple but important tool remains available to encourage early detection and ultimately save lives.”
Founded by Gemma Ainger (pictured) following her own breast cancer diagnosis, and endorsed by Amy Dowden, My Breast Friend is a free, not-for-profit mobile app that has been developed with a clear purpose: to make regular breast/chest self-checking a normal, routine habit. Designed to encourage people to know their normal, in just two clicks, anyone can log a check within a relaxed, friendly space.
Through personalised reminders, simple tracking tools and clear, jargon-free guidance, the app helps Breasties (users) build a consistent habit of self-checking and a better understanding of their bodies. By removing barriers and normalising what can often feel like an uncomfortable or overlooked task, the app plays a vital role in promoting self-care through knowing what your normal looks and feels like. Early detection of any kind of change can make all the difference.
Gemma Ainger said: “The support from the Invicta Community Fund is incredibly important. I created My Breast Friend to help make self-checking second nature, because if I’d been checking, it’s highly likely I could have caught my breast cancer sooner. The app is a forever initiative, so receiving help to fund the ongoing running and hosting costs is amazing. We’ve just reached 5500 downloads and I’m determined to get to 10,000 by Christmas – The backing from the Invicta Community Fund allows Amy and I to focus on our mission for another year, raise awareness, and potentially save lives.”
