Staff at Loughborough University’s Pilkington Library café have raised £1,000 for Brain Tumour Research by taking part in Wear A Hat Day.

Lisa Wheadon, aged 38, who is a supervisor at Pilkington Library café, organised activities along with colleagues at the university. The annual fundraising event took place on Monday 12^th March and saw individuals, schools and businesses across the UK donning hats to raise funds for vital research into brain tumours.

Having heard about Brain Tumour Research from her manager, Lisa said: “I’m so touched by the fact that brain tumours can affect anyone at any age and are so poorly underfunded. What’s more, I didn’t realise how many children are affected.

“The event started at the library café but soon many other outlets were flooded with hats of all varieties – from staff in the retail departments to those working in student accommodation. It was a great team effort and everyone got behind us.”

Alongside Wear A Hat Day, Lisa also organised a raffle and bake sale, placed collection tins and merchandise around the campus, and held a quiz with her colleagues to raise money. Thanks to her efforts, the fundraising soon spiralled and £1,000 was raised, five times her initial target of £200.

Wear A Hat Day has raised over a million pounds since it was launched by Brain Tumour Research nine years ago. Carol Robertson, Head of Fundraising at Brain Tumour Research, said: “Brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone, at any age, at any time. What’s more, they kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this fight devastating disease. We are truly grateful for Lisa’s support and we hope she will inspire more people to fundraise for this important cause.”

The money raised will go towards the pioneering charity Brain Tumour Research which funds a network of dedicated Centres of Excellence where scientists are focused on improving outcomes for patients and, ultimately, finding a cure.

For further information, please contact:
Annie Slinn at Brain Tumour Research on 01908 867239 or annie.slinn@braintumourresearch.org.

Notes to Editors

Brain Tumour Research is the only national charity in the UK focused on funding sustainable research to find a cure for brain tumours. We have established a game-changing network of world-class Research Centres of Excellence in the UK. Embracing passionate member charities nationwide, over £6 million was raised towards research and support during 2017.

We are campaigning to see the national spend on research into brain tumours increased to £30 - £35 million a year, in line with breast cancer and leukaemia. The unprecedented success of our 2015 petition led to the 2016 Westminster Hall debate and Brain Tumour Research taking a leading role in the Government’s Task and Finish Working Group convened to tackle the historic underfunding for research with the report being published in 2018.

Key statistics on brain tumours:

• Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer
• They kill more children than leukaemia
• They kill more men under 45 than prostate cancer
• They kill more women under 35 than breast cancer
• Just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease
• In the UK 16,000 people each year are diagnosed with a brain tumour
• Less than 20% of those diagnosed with a brain tumour survive beyond five years compared with an average of 50% across all cancers
• Brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone at any age
• Incidences of, and deaths from, brain tumours are increasing.

Please quote Brain Tumour Research as the source when using this information. Additional facts and statistics are available from our website including our latest Report on National Research Funding. We can also provide case-studies and research expertise for media.