Brain Tumour Research supporters are adding a festive flourish to their fundraising this December, making the most of the season of goodwill to raise vital money and awareness to help find a cure for brain tumours.
Eight-year-old Varden Callaghan dashed through the streets of London to complete the Santa in the City race. Along with his siblings, Vivienne, five, Claudia, nine and Cameron, 11, Varden raised more than £2,000 for Brain Tumour Research.
Varden was just four years old when he had a 10-hour surgery to remove a pilocytic astrocytoma in 2022.
Also donning their Santa suits for the 5km race were Varden’s mum, Lisa, and 19 of her colleagues. Lisa said: “The kids loved doing it and getting involved. And Varden feels really proud that he was able to run it. He can go into his class and show his medal and say that he’s raised money for Brain Tumour Research, which is going to help other children who have brain tumours. And he can talk about it and be proud of himself.”
A dazzling Christmas display is lighting up a street in Dundee as a committed family has once again adorned their house with festive lights and decorations.
It took Ian Craighead and his dad, Syd, a whole week to set up the lights, working through wind and rain to complete the epic Christmas scene. “If putting up lights helps raise money for research so that other families do not lose loved ones, then being cold and tired is a small price to pay,” Ian said.
Over the past four years, the family has raised more than £10,000 for Brain Tumour Research in memory of Ian’s sister, Sara, who died from brain cancer in 2013.
This year’s display is also in memory of Ian’s mum, Helen, who died in August this year. It is the first time Ian and Syd have put up the lights without Helen’s support. Ian said: “We have two inflatable angels that used to represent Sara but now one is for Sara and one is for Mum. Mum loved pigs and collected them, so last year I bought her a big acrylic pig with a Santa hat. She loved it. After she passed away, I saw a family of five piglets and bought them to go with it. Those pieces mean the most to me.”
Twelve new pieces, including penguin families, a snowman family, a gingerbread family, a cone tree, a group of piglets, a reindeer and Santa figures, are part of the display this year, which is well on its way to achieving the family’s £1,500 fundraising target.
Matt Scotchford isn’t putting his feet up this festive season – he’s set himself a mammoth challenge to run an impressive 10km every day in December. As Matt (pictured above with his sister Hannah) approaches the halfway point of his challenge, he has already raised nearly £2,000 for Brain Tumour Research.
The start of Matt’s challenge, 1st December, marked one year since his dad Keith died of a glioblastoma, aged 70.
Matt said: “It was such a shock. One minute Dad was fine, and the next we were told he had an incurable brain tumour. Everything happened so quickly, and Dad was told he had just nine to 12 months to live. It's hard to comprehend. Glioblastoma is such a brutal type of brain tumour but Dad dealt with everything like a champ. I set myself this challenge because I feel so passionately about trying to raise money for vital research to help find answers to this. I hope that, in my lifetime, a cure will be found.””
Feeling inspired to fundraise your way for Brain Tumour Research? Let us know what you’ve got in mind and we’ll support you every step of the way.
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