Braving the shave for Mum & NHS staff

WHAT'S GOING ON?

I'm shaving my head this Christmas to raise money for the staff at the University Hospitals of Derby & Burton Combined Day Unit & Oncology department.

The CDU offers treatments for patients with cancers or blood disorders, with many patients making frequent visits to the unit for regular chemotherapy for tumours, leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma or non-malignant haematological conditions.

HOW COME?

My brilliant Mum - Mother Hill to my friends who know and love her - has been busy kicking breast cancer's butt for the last few months. It's not quite what she had planned for her retirement but it's been a serendipitous journey; she started her career in the NHS almost 30 years ago at what is now the University Hospitals of Derby & Burton, the same place she's receiving treatment. The UHDB even took over part of the hospital she worked for just before the pandemic, so she knows first-hand just how hard every member of staff works to provide outstanding care and dedication to their patients in the toughest times.

WHAT CAN I DO?

If you can spare anything at all, from £1 to £10 I'd be HUGELY grateful for your support. Words of encouragement are nice too!

THEN WHAT?

The clippers are coming out at the end of December, but I'll keep this fundraiser running until the end of January, when Mum will hopefully finish chemotherapy.

The money raised will go directly to the CDU and Oncology teams, with 10% of proceeds (and my hair!) donated to The Little Princess Trust, a charity that provides real hair wigs to children and young people who have lost their own hair through cancer treatments and other illnesses.

UPDATE 25/11/24

I published this today just after 1pm and hit my initial target of £500 in less than five hours!! Thank you so, so much to everyone who donated on Day One - your kindness and generosity is incredible.

Given that you're all a naughty bunch who can't wait to see my head naked, I'm raising the bar to £2,000.

UPDATE 15/12/24

I cannot believe we're now at £2,532 - that's two thousand pounds over my initial goal and over half way to 5k. To everyone who has donated, thank you from the bottom of my heart; you're truly amazing.

UPDATE 27/12/24

I just hit £3,000! Humanity is pretty fucking great sometimes, isn't it?

UPDATE 26/01/25

This week, Channel 4 confirmed they'll match the 10% of proceeds going to the Little Princess Trust, which means as of right now, £736 will go towards giving hair & hope to thousands of children and young people.

UPDATE 06/02/25

I'm closing the fundraiser today - a week after Mum finished her final round of chemo - at £4,040!

For those of you adding up the figures, the actual final total is £4,444 - not bad considering my initial target was £500! TO EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO DONATED, THANK YOU X

UPDATE 24/02/25

Following coverage by the Derby & Burton Hospitals Charity, I'm reopening the fundraiser for those who still want to donate! The page will be live until March 14th, when Mum moves onto the next phase of her treatment.

UPDATE 16/03/25

After some last minute and direct donations, the final, FINAL total of funds raised is £4,135!