Happy #WearAHatDay
The UK’s premier brain tumour awareness event is in its twelfth year and over the years has raised £2 million – it’s always a great day with inspirational stories and great photos
accompanying the stream of donations and money raised through fundraising activities. See what’s been going on through our social media pages and join in using the hashtag #WearAHatDay.
You can make a direct donation here
As you all know Brain Tumour Research, as well as being a funder of brain tumour research at our dedicated research centres, is a campaigning charity and money raised from Wear A Hat Day will be used to fund research as well as underpin our campaigning activity.
Campaigning is vital if we are to get the parity of research funding we so desperately need. We are clear we cannot do this alone – we need the support of UK Governments and that is why Wednesday was such a significant day.
It was the day when our Prime Minister, when asked at Prime Minister’s questions by Derek Thomas, the Chair of the APPG on brain tumours, agreed to accept the #braintumourpetition and our subsequent report – a report that many of you have contributed your stories to – in person.
What does this mean – well basically, as soon as restrictions allow, Derek will take the voices of the more than 100,000 people who signed the #braintumourpetition to the Prime Minister in person and with it he will echo the clarion call of our community – ‘we want parity of research funding, we just want the same, we want a levelling up.’
This call has been loud and clear on the media this week whether it was Dame Sheila Hancock and Professor Silvia Marino on Sky News or Lauren talking about 22-month-old Albie on BBC Radio Oxford, Matt and Julie on ITV Anglia or Ria on BBC Essex, and Victoria on BBC Spotlight.
So many people, such different stories but speaking with one voice.
It was in this spirit of coalescence that Brain Tumour Research was established a little over a decade ago. The landscape was very different then and we could never have dreamt that in 2021 the British Prime Minister would be “looking forward” to receive a petition report from us!
Look what we have achieved by working together and being the right people, doing the right thing for the right reasons.
Hats off to MSP Alexander Stewart too. He is encouraging politicians in Scotland to take part in Wear A Hat Day.
Tabling the motion to the Scottish Parliament, Mr Stewart said: “That the Parliament welcomes the forthcoming Wear A Hat Day, which takes place on 26th March 2021; understands that the event, arranged by the charity Brain Tumour Research, has raised over £2 million to help fund crucial 'discovery’ research at its UK Centres of Excellence; notes that this also supports the charity’s vital campaigning activity with the public and with the UK Government and devolved administrations, as well as with larger cancer charities, to encourage investment in more research nationally; acknowledges that for 2021’s event, Brain Tumour Research’s theme is celebrating key workers, with its marketing imagery featuring key worker families who, despite having their own devastating brain tumour stories, are determined to show the joy and positivity that is involved in Wear A Hat Day, and sends its very best wishes to all involved.”
This motion has received wide cross-party support from many MSPs, including former Leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Jackson Carlaw.
We’re looking forward to seeing Hatty Holyrood photos!
I know you’ve been supporting me in asking your MPs to engage with us by tweeting photos of themselves wearing hats – please do let me know if they do so as, on such a busy day, we can miss the occasional #WearAHatDay tweet and I’d hate to miss any political hat activity. If you haven’t tweeted your MP yet then there is still time and they have just broken up for their Easter holidays so you have a good chance of getting their attention.
That’s it for this week and although a shorter update than usual it is a memorable one with another campaigning milestone reached.
Thank you all for your support with the petition, we will share the resultant report with you very soon. There will be a digital version to share far and wide.
It’s been quite a lockdown year and we are proud of how you have kept supporting us and on a personal note I am proud of how the charity, and my colleagues, have responded to these turbulent times. Innovation and determination, being resistant and persistent – that has got us to this point and will take us to even greater endeavours – it is great to have you all on the team, and if you haven’t already joined us as a campaigner email me, hugh@braintumourresearch.org