Dufftown mum shaves head for Macmillan Cancer Support
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GEMMA Taylor (31) raised £720 for Macmillan Cancer Support after she shaved her head earlier this month.
Gemma, who lives in Dufftown, completed the fundraising as part of Macmillan Cancer Support's 'Brave the Shave' campaign which encourages people to shave their head to raise money for those living with cancer. She also streamed it live on November 13 on her Facebook page.
Gemma said: "I'm dead chuffed. I've raised £720 which is wonderful. That came from cash, Macmillan's Facebook and directly from 'Brave the Shave'.
"This is for all of those people we are loving right now and who we have loved and lost to cancer," she added.
The mum of one wanted to participate in the campaign having witnessed family, friends and colleagues suffer from the devastating disease throughout her life and wanted to set an example for her young son Cammi-James (3).
Gemma had set an initial fundraising target of £500 but eventually smashed that by over £200.
"I wasn't nervous but I was definitely overwhelmed especially with all the donations," she said.
"I couldn't keep up with posting all the thank you messages on Facebook. Even putting up statuses with new donations was difficult as it would keep changing.
"Most of all I felt very emotional at the moment of doing the shave. I had to stop talking on the live video just at the thought of loved ones past and present and with losing my auntie to cancer just a few weeks prior to the shave.
"I feel proud. Liberated even. My son is delighted. The first thing he said to me was 'wow, mummy you're so pretty'."
Since 2015 the 'Brave the Shave' campaign has raised over £22.7 million. Participants can also donate their hair to the Little Princess Trust which provides real hair wigs to children and young adults with cancer.
More information can be found here.
