Arty Milton Keynes entrepreneur to raffle handknitted hat to fund research into disease that took her dad's life

A charity worker from Milton Keynes is raffling a handknitted hat to help fund research into the disease that took her dad’s life.

Arty Emma Jolly is hoping to raise at least £500 for Brain Tumour Research by raffling a bobble hat in time for the charity’s Wear A Christmas Hat Day campaign.

The 25-year-old, who started knitting and crocheting at the age of 12 and has a degree in fine arts, said: “It took me about a week to make because I used a few different yarns. It’s 100% wool and has different colours in it as well as a pom-pom on top.”

Her inspiration for the fundraiser comes from her dad Mark who developed secondary brain tumours after being diagnosed with kidney cancer in January 2018.

Mark, a much-loved father-of-three who worked as an IT project manager for Santander in MK, had a tumour in his kidney the size of an orange. The cancer spread to his lungs, spine, neck, bone and brain. He died in June 2020 at the age of 49.

Emma, a supporter care administrator and community fundraiser for Brain Tumour Research, said: “It was the brain tumours that affected Dad the most. He was really ill for a couple of years and, although he lived longer than the doctors said he would, once it spread to his brain, things got a lot worse.

“He couldn’t speak properly, everything was gibberish – he knew what he wanted to say but just couldn’t get it out. He also became snappy and irritable, which just wasn’t him. He was a really clever, funny and caring man but the brain tumours changed his personality a lot.”

Emma started making bags for fun after discovering some “spectacular” cord at a knitting and stitching fair. She posted photographs of her creations on Instagram and, due to demand, began selling them through the online marketplace Etsy.

As her dad’s condition worsened, she experienced “brain fog” and it became harder for her to concentrate on her job as a buying assistant. Eventually, she quit to concentrate on her Emma Jolly Shop business full time. Now she does it part-time and sells the accessories she makes on stalls, such as at the White Hart Christmas Market in Sherington.

She said: “Any time I did anything, Dad was so enthusiastic, and always thought of ways I could go further with it. I knitted him a hat in our last Christmas together so know he would have loved what I’m doing now.

She added: “I feel like supporting a research charity is the most practical kind of help I can give.

“My dad was quite practical and would want to find a solution to any problem. I feel he would have been really interested in the charity and probably would have campaigned for it himself.”

Each raffle entry costs £3 and the winner, chosen at random, will be announced on Wear A Christmas Hat Day, which takes place on December 16.

To enter Emma’s raffle, visit the Just Giving page or find out more on the Wear A Christmas Hat Day site.

Text HAT to 70450 to donate £5 to Brain Tumour Research. Texts cost £5 plus one standard rate message.