Kirsty, 11, seeks more Kirstys to help raise money for brain tumour research

Calling all Kirstys! A schoolgirl from Tunbridge Wells in Kent is seeking people who share her name to help raise money for research into paediatric brain tumours like the one for which she is being treated. Kirsty Waugh, who turns 12 on Monday, has already persuaded more than 10,000 Kirstys, Kirsties, Kersties and assorted other variants to plot their locations on a map that shows Kirstys can be found everywhere from Colombia to Malaysia, and even at the Rothera research station in Antarctica. Kirsty and her father, Mat, are hoping to track down many more, to raise awareness and money for an area of cancer treatment that is widely regarded as underfunded . “We thought: why don’t we ask people called Kirsty because they’re the best people, because it’s the best name,” she said. Her father, a children’s author, added: “If you believe you share the same name as Kirsty, then you are very, very welcome on the map” Kirsty Brooks at the Rothera Research Station in Atarctica has pledged her support. Photograph: Kirsty Brooks “We have a few Kirstens. We have Kurstie with a U, Kerstie with an E. There’s even one guy called Alan who has declared himself as a Kirsty to show his support. His name was Alan, spelled K-I-R-S-T-Y.” The pair say other non-Kirstys are also welcome to plot themselves in solidarity, with no requirement to change their names. …