Carrie Bickmore must be beaming after The Project host’s charity, Beanies 4 Brain Cancer, raised more than $2.1 million in an hour last night.
The charity helps raise money for brain cancer research. In a special – and emotional – episode of the The Project, Carrie’s co-hosts, Waleed Aly and Peter Helliar donned beanies to support the cause.
A short time ago, Carrie she took to Instagram to thank the people of Australia for their generosity.
“What a night,” she wrote. “Thank you for your generosity, blown away, such a great night. Jump on board and let’s beat brain cancer together”.
Carrie’s ‘Beanies 4 Brain Cancer’ was established after Carrie won the Gold Logie at the 2015 TV WEEK Logie Awards. When Carrie won, she took to the stage wearing a blue beanie and dedicated her award to her late husband Greg, who passed away five years earlier following a long battle with brain cancer.
Doing his bit for the cause was comedian Tommy Little, who took a nude bungee jump. Dave Hughes and Amanda Keller also joined the panel, while pop sensation Portugal. The Man had the audience up on their feet with their song Feel It Still.
While last night’s episode was full of laughs and entertainment, things did take a sombre turn when Waleed and Carrie presented “the faces of brain cancer” to the audience. This was followed by a touching segment displaying a variety of people who have fought, or are still fighting the battle with the illness. It brought Carrie to tears.
Waleed acknowledged that about 1600 Australians are diagnosed each year, and out of that 1600 it is estimated that 1300 will die from the disease.
Carrie explained the statistics didn’t “convey the bravery, the determination and the fight of those who have battled and are currently battling brain cancer”.
Carrie has since revealed that the charity has raised an incredible $4 million, with the amount growing higher every hour.
“Holy Moly!! How high we can we go???!” she wrote on Instagram.
You can grab a beanie, or make a donation, you can do so at carriesbeanies4braincancer.com right now.
