360 Play - which has its headquarters in Linford Wood East - has teamed up with Milton Keynes-based national charity Brain Tumour Research for March, Brain Tumour Awareness Month.
The charity wants to highlight the fact that brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.
360 Play is asking its customers for donations, but also also urging people to take part in Brain Tumour Research’s UK-wide fundraising event, Wear A Hat Day, which takes place on Friday, March 31.
On the day, its staff, both at head office and at the play centre in Knowlhill, will be wearing hats and encouraging customers to do the same.
Now in its eighth year, Wear A Hat Day is supported by Debbie McGee, who lost husband Paul Daniels to a brain tumour a year ago, celebrated milliner Stephen Jones OBE who cared for a terminally ill friend, actress and broadcaster Sheila Hancock CBE whose grandson was successfully treated, and singer, songwriter and record producer John Newman who is awaiting treatment for his second brain tumour.
Wear A Hat Day will see schools, workplaces, families and individuals across the UK fundraising and taking part in all manner of hat-themed fun events to raise awareness of brain tumours and help fund life-saving research. Funds raised through 2017’s event will develop the charity’s network of world-class brain tumour research centres in the UK.
Serena Lawrence, Centre Manager at 360 Play Milton Keynes, explained: “We were shocked to discover that brain tumours can be so deadly and that they claim the lives of more children and adults under 40 (who are often parents with young children) than any other cancer.
"Wear A Hat Day is a fun way to get involved – so don’t forget your hat if you are visiting on 31st March!”
Chief executive of Brain Tumour Research, Sue Farrington Smith MBE added: “We are extremely grateful to everyone at 360 Play for supporting the charity and this year’s Wear A Hat Day, which we are sure will be bigger, bolder and hattier than ever! Everyone who takes part and makes a donation is helping to fund the fight against brain tumours. Together we will find a cure.”
