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Success stories

Read the stories of people who did it their way to raise money for Macmillan.

Meet Zac, Joe and Mikey

In July 2015, Joe’s brother Sam was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 17.  Joe decided to organise a football tournament at his local club, to raise money for Macmillan and bring the community together. They had a raffle and auction alongside the match and had a hugely successful event.

Joe worked with the local football club, his football team and the whole community to get his event going. He also managed to source auction and raffle prizes which he knew his friends would be keen to win.

Joe and his brothers all play football, and so do all their friends. This event worked so brilliantly because they already had contacts and a ready-made audience who would come along to support them.

Meet Jo, Mark and Tom

Jo’s Dad, Mark, was diagnosed with bowel cancer at the age of 41. Jo, together with her brother Tom, father Mark and a network of family and friends decided to organise a series of fundraising events, culminating in a comedy night for 200 guests, with comedian Romesh Ranganathan headlining, and a raffle, auction and speeches.

Jo and the family knew that they would attract more guests and raise more money with a famous name supporting them. Mark approached a well-known comedian who he knew lived locally, explained what they were doing and why, and he agreed to perform at the event.

An event of this scale was only made possible by Jo roping in all the members of ‘Team Lay’ to lend a hand. Everyone played to their strengths, so those with the best contacts were tasked with securing auction prizes, and it was all hands-on deck for big tasks like setting up the venue for the night.

A woman wearing a knitted hat with donuts on it.

Meet Sara

Sara was diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2014.  Sara set herself the challenge to wear a different hat every day for a year. The 365-day headgear challenge gained huge momentum, and Sara has raised many thousands of pounds for Macmillan. The 365 days have now passed, but Sara continues to wear different hats and share photos to raise awareness of breast cancer.

Sara set herself a stretching target when she first began her challenge. Each time she hit her target, she increased it again. She celebrated her fundraising milestones with her followers too, making everyone feel involved in her success.

Sara used Twitter (@fizzysnood), Instagram and Facebook to get her daily headgear photos out to her quickly-growing audience, as well as regularly updating her JustGiving page. Her images were shared widely and a following of thousands has built up around her and her fundraising.