Cake Bake competition

This Friday will see a very exciting cake bake rematch at my new agency McCann Ericksson Manchester.

A few weeks ago we saw Mark Jackson go up against the aptly named Debbie Kitchen in a hotly contested cake-off.  Debbie won with her beautiful lemon cake and hopes to retain her title as Queen of Cakes.

An outsider will be adding a new layer of excitement by joining this hot contest.  Their identity will be revealed later this week.

All the ‘judges’ will be donating a minimum £2 to cast their vote. Donations will go to Breast Cancer Campaign.

Watch this space for the winning Master Baker!

3 Peaks Challenge

Well done to creative digital agency, Collective, who raised a fantastic £1600 for MacMillan Cancer support by climbing the 3 tallest mountains in the country in under 24 hours!

Some sore feet but plenty well deserved smiles!

If you would like to donate, please go to: Collective 3 peaks challenge donations.

Well done all! x

Wig Out Wedding

I have been a bit quiet of late, as I’ve moved back to my Northern roots.  Since my sisters diagnosis I’ve wanted to be nearer to her, hence the move.

A wonderful thing happened earlier this year – the first Wig Out wedding!  Congrats to Tim and his new wife Nicola, who held a Wig Out themed hen/stag party.

One wedding guest said:

‘They are so sweet, seriously I think I might cry!  The wedding speeches tore me to bits.  They were doing it because Nicola’s mother died of cancer and both of them nursed her to the end of her life in their house’.

Tim and Nicola used the ocassion to make a positive difference and raise money for Breast Cancer Charities.  They raised over £300, which will go towards saving women’s lives and alleviating the suffering of breast cancer patients.

All the best for the future to a wonderful couple. xx

Wig Out at Elvis Communications

Elvis Communications recently held a fantastic pink themed Wig Out. In the middle of all the fun they raised a fantastic £290.50 for Breast Cancer Care.

To help inspire your Wig Out, here’s some of the fun stuff they had happening throughout the day:

Pink brings out your eyes.

Everyone dressed to impress in pink. A wig, a hat or whatever else looked good. Votes were collected and prizes given to the Pink King and Queen.

Get pink at home.

No need for them to argue over who was making the tea that day – the charity team, went around the office doing a tea running selling tea and pink themed cakes which people had baked at home. A bake sale was was a key part to their fund raising (mmm and tasty too).

Drink pink.
They also brought a pink themed drinks trolley around the office – pink cocktails and snacks ahoy! Well, it was a Friday after all!

Elvis' pink Wig Out!

Their day included crowning their King and Queen Wiggers – the people wearing the best pink outfit and getting into the spirit of the day. They also held a raffle for some delicious cup cakes kindly donated by Bittersweet Bakers.

Cakes provided by Bittersweet Bakers

What a HOT guy can teach you about checking your breasts …

Great Northern Run Ireland 2009

The run in Ireland went really well. The training paid off and I did it in a respectable 55 minutes. Sorry the picture is tiny, I don’t have a larger one, plus it’s a blessing in disguise as my face is sooo red!

I’ve also raised over £700 + 28% in Gift Aid for Break Through Breast Cancer. So a BIG thanks for all the kind support. Every penny counts in the fight against breast cancer and saving lives.

It’s not too late to donate: www.justgiving.com/hayley-1ok.

My sister is doing really well, and is through her chemo now. Next steps are surgery and radio therapy. It’s a long slog, but she is such an inspiration. I have never heard her complain once. All the fund raising news, helps her stay positive and she has her own fund raising plans afoot for when she is through the treatment.

So next steps for me? One of my plans, is to do a half marathon in September. I must be crazy, but anyway, watch this space for more news

P.s don’t forget to join the Facebook group. Just search against ‘Wig Out’ and look for the big pink wig.

Yes it is me!

Steve gets his ‘wig’ off

A big pat on the back for the staff at Collective – particularly Steve Little and Andy Thomas.

Steve let Andy shave off his ‘wig’ for Breast Cancer Care, then braved the pub mid-shave and frightened the respectable lunchtime clientèle. He successfully raised a total of £50!

Another great fund raising idea – if you can find people brave enough to do it!

How very 'Shoreditch'

Charity Clothes Swapping Party

Ladies, this is a credit crunchtastic chance to get rid of your old clothes and swap them for new!  Simply bring your unwanted clothes, you will be given a token in return, which you can swap for a piece of new clothing.  Swap don’t shop!

Where?

Keston Lodge Pub, Islington, London.  5 mins walk from Angel or Highbury and Islington tube stations.

When?

Saturday 7th March

1pm – bring your clothes

1.30pm – swap begins!

Why?

To raise money for breast cancer charities.  It’s £4 to join in. Plus any further donations are more than welcome!  All proceeds go to Break Through Breast Cancer.

If you want anymore info email me: hayley.stopford@gmail.com.  Please register interest on my facebook group, so I have some idea of numbers.  See you there!

Prizes to be won!

Big thanks to Otterboxes for very kindly donating some rather lovely iPod and iPhone cases to Wig Out for charitable purposes.

They are available to the next person who holds a Wig Out fund raising event. Just think what you could use them for: Queen Wigger Prize, a raffle or prize for best comedy wigger…..

Every penny counts, so I don’t mind how big or small the event is.

First come, first served. So get in there quick before they go!

Preventing Breast cancer

I am doing some research into breast cancer, for a piece of video we are hoping to create to raise awareness about women checking their breasts. I found these stats on the breast cancer research site and the one that shocked me most personally, was the 35% increased risk if you are taking the pill!  No-one told me that before.  Wow. And you might think twice before you neck that glass of vino tonight : S …. Check out the other factors:

* Women with a mother, sister or daughter diagnosed with breast cancer have an 80% higher risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer themselves.

* Risk increases with the number of first-degree relatives diagnosed with breast cancer, but even so, eight out of nine breast cancers occur in women without a family history of breast cancer.

* Obesity increases risk of postmenopausal breast cancer by up to 30%.

* Women using hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for five years or longer have a 35% increased risk of breast cancer.

* Use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) causes approximately 2,000 cases of breast cancer in the UK each year.

* The risk of breast cancer in current users of oral contraceptives is increased by around a quarter.

* Drinking as little as one pint of beer or one large glass of wine a day increases risk of breast cancer by more than 7%. * A more active lifestyle reduces breast cancer risk.