After losing three members of her family to lung cancer, Jo Huddart and Bev Rayner decided to get creative with their fundraising, making knitted chocolate orange hats that raised £650 for two charities close to their hearts.  

The radiographers from Harrogate District Hospital split the funds between two charities close to their hearts. 

“Lung cancer has affected me in more ways than one, three to be exact. In 2011 my mother Marjorie, died, in 2021 my father Joe also passed away and in 2022 so did my father-in-law, John. 

All received a late-stage lung cancer diagnosis.  

I’m sad to say they had been smokers which was a contributing factor, but their lung cancer wasn’t caught until it was too late.  

That was why I chose to support Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, to honour my parents and father-in-law and to support a charity that researches into early detection methods.” 

Our fundraiser

“Hats for chocolate oranges first started in 2020, supporting other charities and we wanted to re-visit the fundraiser for charities personal to us.  

Bev donated hers to Dementia Forward after her father-in-law died from Alzheimer’s in 2020, so it really was a fundraiser close to our hearts.  

Our hat knitting began in October, and we sold them to order from then until December to our colleagues and friends at the hospital.  

I have to say, the response was phenomenal, we were overwhelmed with the uptake and grateful for their support. It meant we could both give to the charities we care about.  

It’s surprising what you can raise when you think out of the box. We are both so proud of our accomplishments and know that every penny helps to support all those experiencing what we have been through.”