Bandanas for brain tumours

Members of the public, schools, clubs, pubs and workplaces across Devon are being asked to show their support for brain tumour patients and their families on  Friday 7 March, Bandanas for Brain Tumours Day.

By wearing a bandana and donating £1 or more to the South West's brain tumour charity Hammer Out, people can help fund its Devon support group which meets monthly in Exeter and enable the charity to offer vital support to those in the region facing a brain tumour diagnosis.

Hammer Out, which is running the day in conjunction with The Brain Tumour Charity, also hopes that people will be inspired to hold bandana-themed fund-raising events on the day - from zumbathons to pub quizzes and coffee mornings to sponsored sporting events.

This is the second year in which Hammer Out has run its bandana campaign during March, which is designated Brain Tumour Awareness Month. The charity aims to increase understanding of brain tumours and their life-changing effects on patients and families, to make people from the South West, and Midlands regions who are coping with a diagnosis aware that Hammer Out is there in support, and to raise vital funds to enable more people to access help and advice.

The charity has specially designed charity bandanas available to buy from its website for just £3 each or people can wear their own.

Last year celebrities such as  Olympic diver Tom Daley, Falklands hero Simon Weston,  stylist Gok Wan and popular actor Ben Miller wore bandanas to show their backing for the campaign. 

This year's theme is "How will you wear yours?" with Hammer Out encouraging people to wear a bandana in any way they wish - as a headband or like a turban, styled with Johnny-Depp-like pirate cool, or as a neckerchief, a hair tie or a wristband.

The charity is also running three fun competitions inviting photos and nominations for the best or most unusual way of wearing a bandana, most bandanas in one picture with offices, clubs, scout groups and others being encouraged to take part and a challenge to see who can get one or more famous people to wear a bandana!

Monies raised will enable Hammer Out to help brain tumour patients, their families, carers and loved ones who are facing and coping with a brain tumour diagnosis. Whilst demand for its support is growing each year the charity receives no statutory funding and relies solely on voluntary donations to raise the funds it needs to provide its services. 

Every year some 16,000 people in the UK will be diagnosed with a brain tumour. Brain tumours are now the second most common cause of death from cancer in under 40’s and the most common solid tumour found in children, having overtaken leukaemia as the biggest killer of children in the UK.

"There is no clear cause and no cure. Some brain tumours can now be treated or controlled by surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, but even those who are lucky enough to survive are likely to experience life changing effects, both physical and emotional." explains Tina Mitchell Skinner, Chief Executive of Hammer Out, who founded the charity in 2003 after she lost her husband Paul to a brain tumour, when he was aged just 37. 

It was from experiencing the lack of support available during Paul's illness that inspired Tina to start providing help, initially just from her living room.  The charity now runs 11 support groups across the South West and Midlands.

"Our team, which includes patient and family workers and counsellors, is there to help all those who are affected, with practical guidance, emotional support, information about treatment, help coping with bereavement and much more, for as long as we are needed." adds Tina.

"For example, we have been working with a family who lost their eight year old son without warning to a brain tumour last year; we are supporting a 17-year-old who is coming to terms with  his dream of university being over because his brain tumour has affected his abilities to manage day to day activities and we are there for people whose brain tumour diagnoses mean that they have had to give up their job or driving or who suddenly suffer epilepsy which is a frequent side effect." adds Tina. 

"We are asking everyone if they would spare a thought - and a pound - next month for those whose lives have changed because of a brain tumour and to show their support by wearing a bandana on 7 March or running a bandana-themed fund-raising event."

Bandanas can be ordered from Hammer Out through their website or by calling fundraising manager Helen Silverthorn on 01454 414355 .

The charity also has downloadable information packs available for individuals, schools, groups, clubs and other organisations who want to fundraise and PR materials to help businesses spread the word of their involvement. 

More information on the Bandanas for Brain Tumours Day can also be found at www.hammerout.co.uk/bandanas.