Long-Serving Kent Care Home Employee Smashes Fund-Raising Target After Braving The Shave For Charity
A long-serving care home worker has fundraised over £1,000 after having her head shaved for a leading cancer charity.
Tracey Hampton, a Recreation and Well-being team member at Abbotsleigh Care Home, in Staplehurst, Kent, braved the shave for Macmillan Cancer Support on Friday, 25 September, fundraising a total of £1,050 – more than doubling her initial £500 target.
Tracey, who has been with the home for 13 years, faced the chop at Abbotsleigh’s Hair Salon and her sponsorship will now go towards the millions of pounds needed to pay for Macmillan Nurses, who support people living with cancer.
As well as fundraising for Macmillan, Tracey’s hair will go to the Little Princess Trust, a charity that provides real hair wigs to children and young adults who have lost their own hair through cancer treatment and other illnesses.
Speaking after the shave, Tracey said: “I feel liberated and proud that I’ve raised such a large sum of money for Macmillan Cancer Support. The donations will help many families at this very difficult time – just to have someone at the end of the phone to talk to and listen to is so important.
“At the end of the day, my hair will grow back and when I will look in the mirror I will smile and know what an amazing cause it has been for.”
Alina Abagiu, Manager at Abbotsleigh Care Home, said: “We are so proud of Tracey for braving the shave for Macmillan Cancer Support. She’s absolutely smashed her fundraising target and we’re delighted to see so many people from the home and the wider community get behind her and donate to such an important cause.
“Tracey is one of our longest serving members of staff having been with us for 13 years, she’s such an incredible character and role model to everyone at the home. Well done Tracey!”
Abbotsleigh Care Home, which was recently awarded a ‘Commend’ accreditation from the Gold Standards Framework (GSF) for its delivery of outstanding end of life care, is part of the family-run Nellsar group, a group of 13 care homes throughout Kent, Essex and Surrey,
Situated a 20-minute drive south of Maidstone, the home provides a wide range of care services including residential care, dementia care, respite care, rehabilitation, and end of life care.
Alina concluded: “Tracey will be rocking some funky hats over the colder months and as for bobble hats, this will be a great opportunity to start a knitting circle with our expert knitters here at Abbotsleigh.”
