Page 176 - She's One Crazy Lady!

This was getti“
many with him and future editors of the Evening Telegraph, and all the other papers mentioned, although when Crazy Hats did get bigger, more papers, magazines and even national papers, radio and TV people came on board and we were often contacted for comments when it was announced ‘celebrities’ had been diagnosed with breast cancer or there had been a breakthrough with treatments and new equipment that was introduced to help with screening or surgery.
What was so, so wonderful about our associations with the media, with extensive coverage being given and a having a presence at so many of our events, was their personal involvement and willingness to help raise funds. Every time I visited the paper’s office, I always received such a warm and friendly welcome, and the staff soon became firm friends, always offering help and putting themselves forward to partake in some bizarre challenges to raise money.
Following the front page headline the proposed Crazy Hats Day continued to get great publicity and was promoted by the papers at regular intervals. With donations starting to come in from other sources,
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ng those stories were also well covered. What was happening was different
the word ‘cancer’
out the”
re. news that everyone could relate to. This was getting the word ‘cancer’
out there and the number of people who had been affected by breast cancer were having a voice. Suddenly, I was beginning to hear of more and more people locally who had been diagnosed or were ‘survivors.’ I was getting letters from people I didn’t know telling me of their cancer journeys, telling me how they felt and offering support for the cause as they, too, wanted to do ‘something’ as a way of giving
something back in order to help others.
The coverage of the Crazy Hats Day itself was
amazing and the company, Johnson Press, even paid for certificates for each of the schools and businesses taking part. Later they donated a very generous £500, with other donations to follow and they also sponsored awards at our walks and funded many 8-page colour supplements and special features to mark certain milestones.
Stephanie Weaver was soon to become our adopted reporter and she loyally stayed with us, even taking part in a skydive challenge, as did another reporter and ‘Jeremy’, the Editor who was to succeed David. Stephanie even got her parents and colleagues involved at our Walks and other fundraisers, raising a lot of money in the process. It was lovely to watch Steph’s career progress over the years we knew her as she was committed to that of being a journalist. Even the office staff were backing us, as were the
news for the press; there weren’t many, or the number or the type of charities like ours about, it was ‘news’ – good news – real life, positive