A Middlesbrough shop owner who had her head shaved to raise money for a cancer charity has praised her fellow traders and customers for their generosity.
Sue Denny’s brother-in-law, her parents and her husband’s parents have all died from the disease. Sue – who, with her sister June, runs Crafty Sisters in the Dundas Indoor Market – suffers from a rare blood illness which requires permanent medication and regular check-ups at a specialist hospital.
On Saturday, a day after her 57th birthday, she Braved the Shave for Macmillan Cancer Support and exceeded her target of £150 four-fold.
June’s husband Bob died when he was just 59. He was suffering from stem cell cancer and was allocated a Macmillan nurse to help him after his treatment in hospital. But he never left there and never met the nurse.
“Bob and the people that we’ve lost will be so proud of her,” said June, who sells handmade children’s clothes in her half of the shop.
“I’m absolutely blown away by people’s kindness,” said Sue. “I’ve been around all the shops in market and the Dundas Centre and everybody’s been so generous.
“I’ve done the Great North Run, I’ve been on a zip wire, I’ve done this, so now I’ll have to find something new for next year.”
Market manager David Harris carried out the first cut. “I don’t know who was more nervous,” he said. “Sue’s a very popular figure amongst all of the independent traders we have here, so I’m not surprised she’s raised so much money. The people of Middlesbrough have again proved how big-hearted they are.”
More than £20m has been raised for the Brave the Shave campaign since it was launched in 2015. Nearly £2m has been given this year. That would fund 34 Macmillan nurses for a year.
Donations can still be made to Sue through her page on Macmillan Cancer Support’s Go Fund Me website http://gofund.me/82dcf517