Dedicated charity worker loses her locks to raise money for children's hospice

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
A charity worker is enjoying her fresh, new look after braving the shave to raise money for a children’s hospice.

Miriam Payne, who lives in Whelley, has seen the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Derian House children’s hospice in Chorley, where she works.

She wanted to do something to help and set a target of raising £150 to pay for a nurse for a day.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

And to raise the money, Miriam decided to ask people to sponsor her to shave off her hair.

Miriam Payne's new lookMiriam Payne's new look
Miriam Payne's new look

The 45-year-old said: “I work at Derian House as the individual giving manager so I know how everything has been affected by the coronavirus and the fund-raising is down. I thought I would do something to support it.

“Like most of us in lockdown at the moment, I have been getting fed up of my hair, so I thought I would get rid of it.”

Miriam got advice from her hairdresser before going under the clippers live on Facebook to remove her bob.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

And despite losing her locks, she was delighted with the result.

“I absolutely love it,” she said. “Initially I thought I would shave it off and it would grow back, but now I love it and might keep it like this.

“It’s so liberating having no hair, it’s unbelievable.

“I was fine shaving it and I’m just glad I don’t have a wonky head!”

Even better was that Miriam, who is married, easily beat her fund-raising target, collecting £1,050 for the hospice.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She said: “It is amazing. When I set out to do it I wanted to raise £150 which would sponsor a Derian House nurse for a day and I have raised enough to sponsor a nurse for a week. It’s exceeded my expectations.”

The money will make a massive difference for the hospice, where Miriam has worked for two years, and its patients.

She said: “It costs £4.8m this year to provide services there and we only get seven per cent in statutory funding, so the rest has to be raised. The fund-raising target is about £2.6m this year.

“All our events this year have been cancelled so we are trying to find a way to plug that gap. With all the businesses closed at the moment, corporate fund-raising isn’t at the top of the agenda, it’s trying to keep businesses afloat and employees in jobs. We understand that, but we have to find other ways to raise money.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It’s such an amazing place to work. It has been strange working from home and not being in the hospice, because it’s the most incredible place to be every day.”

Donations to Miriam’s appeal for Derian House can still be made online at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/miriam-payne1.

A message from the Editorial Director, Gillian Parkinson:

Thank you for reading this story on our website.

But I also have an urgent plea to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality local news on this free-to-read site and in print, please purchase a copy of our newspaper as well.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on our town centres and many of our valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you buying a copy when you pop out for your essential shop or subscribing for delivery.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Our journalists are highly trained by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards anywhere in the world. Our content is universally trusted - as all independent research proves.

As Baroness Barran said in a House of Lords debate this week on the importance of journalists: "Not only are they a trusted source of facts, but they will have a role to play in rallying communities and getting the message across about how we can keep ourselves and our families safe, and protect our NHS. Undoubtedly, they have a critical role."

But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis. In return we will continue to forensically cover the local news - not only the impact of the virus but all the positive and uplifting news happening in these dark days.

We thank all our readers and advertisers for their understanding and support - and we wish YOU all the best in the coming weeks. Keep safe, and follow the Government advice. Thank you.

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE:

You can subscribe for delivery by contacting us at [email protected] or calling us on 0330 4033004 for details of a participating newsagent near you.

News you can trust since 1853
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice