FU Cancer Charity
FU Cancer was founded by Heather Duff — a woman whose response to a cancer diagnosis was, characteristically, to fundraise, to organise and to build something that would outlast her own fight. The charity centres on the annual Stick it to Cancer fancy dress hockey tournament in Edinburgh, raising money for Maggie's Centres in Scotland and bringing together a community of people united by the same stubborn refusal to be beaten.
Heather was a friend and teammate. This project meant something personal from the start, and it's worth saying that plainly.
The brief
When Heather came to us, FU Cancer had an existing WordPress site that had done its job but needed to move forward. The charity was growing — in reach, in ambition and in the complexity of what it needed to manage digitally. A platform that could handle donations, event registrations, ticket sales for the post-tournament dinner and the ongoing storytelling around Heather's journey and the charity's work.
Preserving history mattered as much as building something new. Years of blog posts, tournament photography and fundraising records carried real meaning — both for the FU Cancer community and as a record of what the charity had built. The migration needed to honour that.
The build
Squarespace gave us the right combination of ecommerce functionality and creative flexibility. The site was designed to feel true to FU Cancer's character — the strength, the humour, the defiance that sits at the heart of everything Heather built. It's a charity with a name that makes people smile and a purpose that makes them want to help. The website needed to hold both of those things at once.
Team registration for the tournament was streamlined into a clear, manageable process. Ticket sales for the afterparty dinner were integrated cleanly. Donation pathways were kept as straightforward as possible — removing any friction between someone wanting to give and being able to do so.
All existing content was migrated from WordPress: blog posts, event photography, fundraising history. Nothing was lost in the move.
Words from the client
“Studio Creates built a website for my wife and I for charity events, fundraising and blogging. The website style was exactly what we wanted and Sarah was so helpful in designing it, while taking our feelings into account. Sarah’s support following the website going live has been first class and as someone who has zero experience of IT/websites I’m now confident in adding products and updating all areas of the website. Sarah is also just a lovely human being to deal with. I can’t imagine another company/individual doing a better job. Top service.”
What came later
In the years that followed the initial build, the relationship with Heather and FU Cancer continued. Regular updates, ongoing support and, eventually, something more considered.
As Heather's health became more difficult, we built out a fully automated online booking and waiver system for the tournament. Players could register, pay and complete waivers entirely online. It removed the need for Heather to handle manual registrations, visit banks or meet with groups of people during a time when that mattered enormously. It was a practical thing — automating a process — but the reason behind it made it one of the most meaningful pieces of work we've done.
Making something easier for someone during the hardest period of their life is not something you measure in outputs.
What the platform supported
In 2023, the Stick it to Cancer tournament reached a record twenty teams registered to play. Over £25,000 was raised for Maggie's Centres in Scotland — a remarkable figure that reflected both the strength of the FU Cancer community and the infrastructure that made participation and donation as easy as possible.
Heather passed away in April 2023. She left behind an extraordinary legacy — a charity that continues, a community that remains, and a tournament that will keep going in her name.
A note
We don't write about this project to demonstrate capability. We write about it because Heather deserves to be written about, and because the work we did together was shaped by who she was.
If you'd like to donate to FU Cancer in support of Maggie's Centres, please do.
#FUCancer
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