A young Suffolk woman is set to carry on her father's legacy after being named as an ambassador for a national charity he supported.
Madi Bayfield, daughter of beloved Suffolk musician Mat Bayfield, who died in 2019, seven years after his brain tumour diagnosis, has been named as one of The Brain Tumour Charity's Young Ambassadors.
The organisation is the UK's largest dedicated brain tumour charity, funding research to increase survival, improve treatment options and raise awareness for symptoms to help earlier diagnosis.
Madi's dad raised over £40,000 for the charity, and the 22-year-old wanted to be a young ambassador in order to carry on his legacy and raise awareness of symptoms and the support available to people.
Madi said: “My first real taste of being involved with fundraising for The Brain Tumour Charity was in 2017 when my dad decided to set up ‘Mat’s Walk and Talk Challenge', which involved going for a group walk every day in January to raise money and awareness. My dad was extremely sociable, making the other key aim of these walks to meet and chat to new people.
"Seeing how passionate he was about fundraising and making a difference to those diagnosed with a brain tumour and their families has really inspired me to get involved myself.
"When my dad was diagnosed in 2012, I knew very little about brain tumours or about the support that was available to us.
"I would therefore love to raise awareness and create content for young adults especially as this is the area I feel like I could make the biggest difference.
"I have found that over the past few years, fundraising and charity involvement has had a huge positive impact on my life. I have made connections and taken opportunities that I never would have done before, and I am very much looking forward to being involved in the charity going forwards."
The Brain Tumour Charity's head of services, Eve Kelleher said: We are so proud to have Madi as part one of our 21 new Young Ambassadors who play such a crucial role in helping us to raise awareness about brain tumours – the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40 in the UK."
More information about the charity can be found here: https://www.thebraintumourcharity.org/
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