Coventry funeral branch raises £1,401 for Macmillan

Heart of England Co-op’s Coventry Street funeral branch has raised exactly £1,401 for Macmillan Cancer Support after funeral adviser Caroline Burns agreed to have her long hair cut for the cause.

Burns’ ‘hair-lowering’ experience also boosted a second charity as she donated the leftover hair to the Little Princess Trust, which provides real hair wigs for children and young people suffering from cancer and other conditions.

According to Burns, who has lived in Southam for the past 25 years, a lot of the money raised was donated by the local community. She admits to having a tear in her eye when she realised how much had been raised.

Burns said: “I never thought the total would be anything like that amount. I was overjoyed to raise so much money but also humbled by the support I’ve had from colleagues, friends, family, the local community and from the Heart of England Co-op which donated £250. I can’t thank everyone enough.

“Macmillan is such a great cause. They’ve been running a ‘Brave the Shave’ campaign to raise funds for cancer patients. We’ve also got a poster in the funeral home about the Little Princess Trust. I kept looking at it and just thought I could do something which could help two causes in one go.”

Funeral director Amanda Morey, who carried out the shave, said it took her around 20 minutes to complete the job.

Morey added: “We cut all the long hair off first with scissors before I went to work on Caroline’s head with the shaver. I think she looks amazing – it’s taken 20 years off her.

“I’m so proud of what she’s achieved. It’s a big thing to do something like that. Not many people would volunteer to have so much hair cut off. To raise more than £1,400 for people suffering with cancer and for children who have lost their hair is just fantastic.”

Macmillan Cancer Support is the Heart of England Co-op’s corporate charity for 2025 and 2026.

Prior to Caroline’s contribution, more than £10k had been raised by staff since February.