Christmas jumpers for Mum

This December, Zoey O'Neill is remembering her fantastic mum, Christine, by wearing a different Christmas jumper each day to raise funds for dementia research.

Zoey's story

"This all started as a way of cheering myself up.

At the end of 2022, my mum died from dementia. After the funeral, I was stuck in that strange in-between space where life is meant to carry on, but you don’t quite know how to step back into it.

One day, I put on a Christmas jumper, took a selfie, and shared it. It gave me a reason to get dressed properly. To do something small that felt vaguely normal.

People were kind. Encouraging. They noticed when I didn’t post one day. So I kept going. More jumpers appeared. Charity shop finds. Donations from friends. On Christmas Day, I went full Christmas tree.

What started as a way to cheer myself up is now raising money for charity.

One of the things that really stayed with me after speaking to BRACE is this:

Every £16.15 donated pays for an hour of PhD research.

An actual hour. A real person. Sitting there, thinking, testing, noticing things.

You never know when it happens. The moment someone spots the detail they hadn’t seen before. Makes the connection that unlocks the next step. Realises something that changes the direction of the work.

I’ll never know if one of those hours leads to a breakthrough. But I like thinking that one of them might.

And that feels like a pretty good reason to keep wearing the jumpers."

We'd like to thank Zoey for her generosity, and for reminding us that hope and joy can help us defeat dementia, even amidst our grief.

If you would like to learn more about Zoey's challenge or donate please visit: www.justgiving.com/page/xmas-jumper-fest