A selfless woman from Oswaldwistle braved the shave for Macmillan and raised almost double her target for people living with cancer.

52-year-old Joanna Reeves went live from Oswaldtwistle Post Office in One Stop on Sunday, August 7, as her daughter shaved her hair for Macmillan Cancer Support charity.

The intimate and cathartic moment was shared with customers as they walked into the shop as well as people who were watching from the live stream on Facebook.

The post office manager cut her hair for charity four years ago but as “donations were drying up”, she decided it was time to brave the shave for a good cause again.

Joanna has smashed her £300 goal and has raised £575 and counting. Sharing how the day went, Joanna said:“I was quite emotional, and it felt quite personal. Customers were walking in whilst I was getting it cut and, you kind of know the customers but you don’t know them quite well so when they were offering their donations, it was really lovely, the generosity of people is amazing.

“You know, when people are going through tough times at the moment, but they still want to support the charity and give their money – when I’d finished having the shave, this bloke said ‘oh have you done this for cancer? Here’s 20 quid.’ That made me cry again.

“Everyone’s worried about gas and electric going up with the cost of living and everything but people are still so kind. It’s making me emotional just talking about it.”

The amount of money Joanna’s act has raised will be put straight back into the charity to support the work of volunteers.

Just £16 raised can help run the Online Community forum for one hour, in which time 111 people affected by cancer in the UK can give emotional and practical support to each other on anything to do with cancer.

The supports can include anything from treatment advice to just coping with everyday life, to help with the death of a loved one.

An amount of £585, just £10 off what Joanna has raised, supports the charity’s welfare rights advisers to run the welfare rights element on their phone service for one hour.

In this time, they could, on average, deal with 14 calls and web enquiries and help secure around £20,799 in unclaimed benefits for people affected by cancer.

Joanna has received a tonne of support from close family and friends, customers, and even strangers who happened to stumble upon the Facebook live. Summing up the whole experience in a few words, Joanna said: “Braving the shave is well worth it.”

Hannah Hargraves, Macmillan’s relationship fundraising manager for Lancashire, said: “Macmillan is almost entirely funded through donations from our supporters, and we can only be there for people thanks to the fantastic efforts of fundraisers like Joanna.

"Cancer is not going anywhere and Macmillan is needed now more than ever. Whether it’s creating new services, adapting old ones or speaking up on their behalf, we are working tirelessly to ensure people with cancer get the vital support they need right now. The money raised from Joanna’s shave will help us to do that.”

You can donate to Joanna Reeves’ profile on Macmillan Cancer Support and show your support of the incredible woman and cause here https://bravetheshave.macmillan.org.uk/shavers/joanna-reeves