Wellingborough's Crazy Hats calling it a day after raising more than £3 million for breast cancer care in Northants

A charity which has raised more than £3 million towards improving breast cancer care in the county is calling it a day after nearly 20 years.

The Crazy Hats Breast Cancer Appeal has helped fund numerous projects at both Kettering and Northampton general hospitals since it launched in 2001.

It all started when Glennis Hooper of Wellingborough, who was 46 at the time and headteacher at a Kettering primary school, was diagnosed with breast cancer.

While undergoing chemotherapy, Glennis lost her hair and chose to wear hats.

To raise money for where she was being treated, a Crazy Hats Day was planned at her school but other schools heard about it and wanted to get involved, with 85 schools helping raise £20,000 in just one day.

The charity grew from there, going on to hold 17 sponsored walks, hundreds of fundraisers across the county, having a holiday home for families affected by breast cancer to use and offering regular coffee and chat sessions to support people going through treatment.

But despite all its success, Crazy Hats is set to end.

Founder Glennis told the Northants Telegraph: "I am going with my instinct and gut feeling that this is the right time.

"I am OK with it because so much has happened, not just with Covid but there's lots of things to put it down to.

"As my mum would say, 'you've done your bit.'

"We can't do any fundraising, we can't do the coffee and chat mornings, which is horrible, and my theory is that we are spending money out to keep the charity going but not bringing any money in which is against our beliefs.

"We should be absolutely honest and say it can't go on like this.

"We are in a very healthy position and we don't have to shut, we are setting up a lovely project to end with.

"It will end the way it started with us giving money to the hospital, it's what we are good at and what the charity is known for.

"I am sure the support and the friendship will always be there, we will find ways of getting together but not as a charity."

While details about the final project cannot be revealed yet, Glennis said: "The one at KGH is a big one so we are just waiting for approval with that and that will be our swansong and a legacy for the charity."

But the decision to close, which was made by the charity's trustees, certainly wasn't easy.

Glennis said: "We met as trustees, we had virtual meetings, but we were all of the opinion that this is the correct thing to do for the charity and for the public.

"It's not our money.

"There's the overheads, the office, the holiday home and the van.

"My conscience can't allow that to go on much longer and with the restrictions now, when do we get back to normal?

"It started out with £5 from Margaret, which in 2001 was a lot of money.

"She said 'Glennis, you are going to make a difference.'

"We will probably have raised £3.4 million when we stop, which is a huge amount for a small charity and it is down to the support, dedication and loyalty of so many people in the community, our supporters, all the businesses that have supported us like Avon and the Northants Telegraph too.

"I just feel the time is right."

Glennis has loved every minute and is now keen to finish her book.

She said: "I am still doing my book, which has a completely different ending now.

"I would like to use the book to go into schools and talk about it.

"It's a wonderful story and writing the book has brought back so many memories.

"When I recall the people I have met, it could be an encyclopaedia with volumes one to 10.

"There's so many lovely, wonderful things that have happened that we hope we have made a difference to people whose lives have been affected by breast cancer.

"I would like to think we are going out with our heads held high and we are very proud of what we have done.

"Nothing can last forever."

While the charity could continue, Glennis doesn't feel that would be the right call.

She said: "There's always been the potential to do more, but that money is not doing what we set out to do.

"For me, it's only right that we close the door and move the money to those that need it.

"All donations are to stop at the end of January 2021 and what we have got to do is then close it down as we have to sell off our assets.

"We would look to close the doors at the end of April/May time.

"The holiday home is now up for sale and the van we will keep until the end and then the money will be distributed between KGH and NGH.

"All the money will be used to enhance breast cancer care in Northants."

When asked about handing it over to someone else, Glennis said: "I can't hand the charity over to someone else to do it, it's my baby.

"But I have loved every minute of it.

"I would rather stop now while the enthusiasm is there rather than feel like it's a chore."

And just because the day-to-day running will soon come to an end, the memories will never leave Glennis.

"When I think what we have given to the hospitals - we have been going through the press cuttings and photographs, it's a wonderful story.

"I would love people to read the story of Crazy Hats and I would love to take that story out and inspire other people.

"It will have been nearly 20 years and that's a massive part of my life, there are no regrets whatsoever.

"I have so many happy memories, it will keep me going until my care home days."

The sponsored walks have always been a highlight in the charity's calendar, with Glennis saying: "You'll Never Walk Alone was always our walk song, that used to bring a lump to everyone's throat, it was the bringing together of people.

"Thanks to Wicksteed for all their support because they truly believed in what we were doing.

"My mum used to love the snake going around the park and you saw a sea of pink, that's such a proud moment.

"This is the time we would have started preparing for next year's walk.

"We hope that everyone has lovely memories, especially of all the fun we have had.

"We would never have run the charity unless it was fun."

Glennis is affectionately known as the 'Crazy Lady' but the charity is very personal to her for being there for her, just as it has been for hundreds of other people diagnosed with breast cancer.

She said: "Not being able to go back to school as headteacher due to breast cancer was a low point but Crazy Hats saved my life in many respects.

"Not being able to go back to school at 46 was heartbreaking.

"Crazy Hats really kept me alive."

So while this is the final chapter for Glennis and her team at Crazy Hats, she hopes the charity which 'captured people's imagination' will always be remembered for the huge difference they have made for people across Northamptonshire affected by breast cancer.