Through her baking business, Indulgent Bakes, Abbie organised ‘Baking to Give Back’, raising an incredible £932.00 for brainstrust with the help of her family and the generosity of her community. Here, Abbie shares her mum’s story, why brainstrust means so much to her, and how she turned a difficult anniversary into something truly positive.

A little about myself

Hi, I’m Abbie! I’m a mum of two and the proud owner of Indulgent Bakes, my little baking business. In October 2016, I lost my beautiful mum, Lucy Tompkins, to a brain tumour when I was just 14 years old. At the time, I don’t think I fully understood everything she was going through or just how much people had done to help her. Now, ten years later, and as a mum myself, I look back on things very differently.

My mum’s brain tumour journey

Mum’s journey began in 2013 when she started having seizures whilst pregnant. Due to her pregnancy, there were limitations on what could be done until after she’d given birth. She was initially treated in Oxford, where she was diagnosed with a grade 2 brain tumour. It was through brainstrust that mum was able to get a second opinion in London, where she was diagnosed with a grade 4 glioblastoma multiforme.

Helen from brainstrust also helped mum explore her options and put her in touch with Andrew McEvoy, a specialist neurosurgeon at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London. brainstrust also gave mum access to a specialist with technology and treatment options that hadn’t previously been available to her. Mum underwent operations in both Oxford and London, and despite initially being given a prognosis of around a year, she went on to live for almost four years. Sadly, mum passed away on 19th October 2016, aged just 34.

Why I chose to support brainstrust

Quite simply, without brainstrust, mum would never have had that second opinion. They didn’t just provide information, they helped her explore different treatment options, put her in touch with specialists that made such a difference to her journey.

They also referred mum to the Willow Foundation, who helped her tick some amazing things off her bucket list, giving us memories we’ll always treasure. Looking back through old emails between mum and brainstrust, I can see just how much support and reassurance they gave her.

I was too young to really appreciate it all at the time, but now I realise just how much they did for our family. They helped give us something incredibly precious, more time with mum. I’ll always be grateful for that, and it’s exactly why I wanted to give something back.

What my fundraiser involved and how it went

On 19th October 2026, it marked ten years since we lost mum. I wanted to do something positive to mark the anniversary, and being a baker, cakes seemed like the obvious choice! With the help of my father-in-law, Lee, we filled my little cake shed with homemade treats for our fundraiser, ‘Baking to Give Back’.  Rather than charging set prices, we invited people to pick their favourite bakes and donate whatever they could afford through our GoFundMe page in aid of brainstrust.

The response was amazing! So many people came along to support us, and some even donated without taking any cakes. We raised an incredible £466.00, which was then generously matched by Lee’s workplace (Scott Bader), bringing our total to £932.00!  I honestly couldn’t be more grateful to everyone who supported us. What would normally be quite a difficult day became something positive, and knowing it was all in mum’s memory made it even more special.

What I’d say to anyone thinking about fundraising for brainstrust

I’d say go for it! You don’t need to do anything huge or raise thousands of pounds to make a difference. I simply used something I love doing to support a charity that means so much to my family. Until you’ve been through something like a brain tumour diagnosis with someone you love, I don’t think you can fully appreciate just how important having the right support and information is.

If the money we’ve raised helps even one other family receive the support mum did, then it’s been completely worthwhile. Ten years on, I’m just really proud that I’ve been able to do something positive in mum’s memory and give a little back to a charity that gave our family so much.

A huge thank you to Abigail, Lee and all those who supported this incredible event!

Feeling inspired to organise your own fundraising event?  We’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch with the team at fundraising@brainstrust.org.uk, we’ll support you every step of the way.