£1 million goal for Shropshire brain tumour charity in sight after £100k donation

Headcase Cancer Trust was launched in 2010, following the death of mother-of-three and infants school teacher Becky Speirs.

The 39-year-old had grown up in Bridgnorth and went to school at Oldbury Wells before moving to Nottingham, where she met her husband.

Andy, who lives near Bridgnorth, set up the trust with son-in-law Colin, Becky's widower, to raise money to support brain tumour research.

Since then, supporters across the world have been raising funds through an array of activities.

The charity is now well on the way to raising £1 million after a £100,000 donation was pledged by the Jane Goodman Charitable Trust.

It was made in memory of Dr Jane Goodman, a key figure in paediatric dentistry, after she died at the age of 70, in 2019, having suffered from a brain tumour.

Andy, who is a retired accountant, said the trust has now raised more than £890,000 to date.

"We are keeping our fingers crossed that in the next 12 months we will top a million," the 75-year-old said.

"We have support from all over the world. The £100,000 donation was completely out of the blue.

"We had a Zoom meeting on the Monday with the trustees and by the Wednesday the money was in our bank account, it all happened so fast.

"We are honoured and thrilled to bits."

The charity has set up direct links with universities to improve research and is currently supporting a research project at Aston University in conjunction with the University of Wolverhampton.

"It is very gratifying that we have had so much support," said Andy, who has lived in the area for more than 50 years.

"We're often approached by people who have lost someone close and feel like they want to do something to make that person's life memorable.

"We are very grateful to those who have supported us over the years. Lots of them have been from the local area.

"A great many people make donations following a funeral and although we've seen a decrease in the amount during the pandemic, it does come in."

His son-in-law Colin, who lives in Scotland and is head fundraiser at Headcase, said he was "blown away" by the donation from Jane Goodman Charitable Trust.

"I'm very grateful indeed for a donation that makes a huge difference to our campaign," the 56-year-old added.

"All of us here at Headcase feel proud that the trustees chose us to help keep Jane’s memory alive, and believe this will inspire others to donate and raise more funds in our quest to find a cure for Glioblastoma (GBM).”

GBM is the most common and most deadly type of brain tumour, killing around 5,000 people each year in the UK.

A person's average life expectancy from diagnosis is 14 months and there is no cure.

But the charity is funding research to try and find a cure and people can help by fundraising or donating online.

For more information about Headcase Cancer Trust and how to get involved visit headcase.org.uk, email col@headcase.org.uk or call Colin on 07957 423389.