Community / Fundraiser to embark on twelve-hour ‘knitathon’
SPONSORED walks, shaving off her hair, abseiling in Aberdeen, creating a pop-up charity shop…
Kathryn Fullerton is well known for her fundraising exploits, and with more than £86,000 banked for a variety of causes over the last 15 years, she has just about done it all.
But her next fundraising project is a fairly novel one – a 12-hour “knitathon”.
Alongside her friend Audrey Smith, Fullerton will get the needles out for a half-day session of non-stop knitting on Saturday 7 February.
They will knit at the Cornerstone in Scalloway from 9am to 1.30pm, before heading to the Noost in Lerwick from 2pm to 9.30pm.
All pieces made will during this time will be sold at the end, with proceeds going to Muscular Dystrophy UK.
“After all these years, I was trying to think of something different,” she said.
“My friend Audrey is a keen knitter as well, so we thought we could do it for 12 hours.”
Fullerton said the pair will likely be knitting pieces like hats and headband.
She picks a different charity to fundraise for each year, and Fullerton said she hopes to reach a significant milestone in 2026.
“I’m hoping to crack the £100,000 this year – that’s the plan,” she said.
“There’s going to be lots of fundraising this year.”
There is plenty in the pipeline, but one thing set in stone is her annual walk, which is due to take place in May.
Her fundraising quest began when her mum was in the Gilbert Bain Hospital.
Fullerton – who works on the NorthLink ferry Hjaltland – raised money for the dialysis unit in the hospital – “and it just took off from there”.
Last year, for example, the charity of choice was Prostate Scotland.
“We actually lost a crew member with prostate, so last year was pretty significant really,” Fullerton said. “There’s always a reason for everyone that we’ve done.”
Taking out a scrapbook of all her previous fundraising efforts, she said shaving her hair was a “big one” – while abseiling down the side of Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital was another that sticks in the memory.
Fullerton was even set to jump out of a plane once but it was cancelled at the last minute – when she was “suited and booted” – due to mist.
Other charities which have benefited from Fullerton’s fundraising over the years include Motor Neurone Disease Scotland, Mind Your Head, Crohn’s & Colitis UK and CLAN Cancer Support.
But, as Fullerton puts it, “if i can help one person, it’s all been worth it”.
People can donate to Fullerton’s 2026 Muscular Dystrophy fundraising page here.
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