Back in July, our young friend Eliza, with the help of mum Hannah, hosted a family festival fundraiser for Alopecia UK. The aptly-named Elizachella event has raised the biggest fundraising total of 2023! We caught up with both Eliza and Hannah to find out more!

Eliza, how was Elizachella? What was your favourite part of the day?

Elizachella was amazing, I loved everything my Mummy planned. My favourite part of the day was playing with my friends and family, and dancing to the band Courthouse. 

How did it feel to have a festival named after you?

It made me feel really happy, especially because people came to raise money & awareness for Alopecia UK and I think that is very important. 

Hannah, there must have been a lot of work involved in pulling together Elizachella, looking back are you happy with how it went?

There's certainly things I'd change, but overall it was just the best day! The bands that played were amazing, dancing to Courthouse at the end in the rain with people I love was everything! I'd like to thank everyone who donated, the companies who donated the raffle prizes, the companies who either gave us things at a reduced price or for free, and everyone who attended to make the day extra special!

How does it feel to know that your fundraising total is currently our biggest of 2023?

I am still in shock! Never did I think that a crazy idea of mine would even materialise into a full blown festival nor raise as much money as it did! It's incredible.

Why was it important for you to hold this event and support Alopecia UK?

The event itself was important because I wanted our local community to gain some awareness of alopecia. I wanted Eliza to see how much support she has and the fact that she's accepted by people. 

I can't even put into words how Alopecia UK have supported not only Eliza but us as a family. Every event we have been a part of has been amazing. The annual Alton towers trip is a day we look forward to every year. To see Eliza running care free with people just like her means the world and Eliza's confidence after the event is sky high. Alopecia UK isn't just a charity to us, it's a family. Eliza left her mark on both of the Alton towers trips and it's just so empowering to her to be able see everyone thriving regardless of having hair. So we couldn't not give something back!

Do you and Eliza have any plans for any further awareness or fundraising activities?

I'm hoping to have a chat with her school about doing more awareness days and fundraising days, but certainly in 2024 we will be doing something!! There's a few mind boards floating around, maybe Elizachella part 2 but I feel like we've done that and want to move onto the next thing! Although every time I see people who attended, they always voice their opinion of it being an annual thing... so watch this space...

A big thank you to Eliza, Hannah and everyone who has supported them. Their current fundraising total is over £5,100 with a further donation expected to take their grand total to over £6,000! This is an incredible sum for our small charity to receive and will really help us to continue our work. 

Eliza's fundraising page is still open so if you would like to show your support this Alopecia Awareness Month, you can leave a donation here.