Macmillan coffee mornings are a success across Mansfield

Cheers go up for the Macmillan coffee morning held at the King Edward Primary School on Friday.

This year sees the 28th annual coffee morning, which encourages people to come together over cake and coffee, while raising money for vital cancer support services.   Macmillan provide specialist nurses for those affected by cancer, as well as family support, rights advisers and volunteers.  The charity also influence Government policy to improve cancer patients experience, and are entirely funded by donations and grants.   The world’s biggest coffee morning is Macmillan’s biggest fundraising event for people facing cancer.  The charity asks people all over the UK to host their own Coffee Mornings and donations on the day are made to Macmillan.  In 2017, over £27 million was raised, setting the bar high for 2018.  The coffee morning started as a simple idea - guests would gather over coffee and donate the cost of their cuppa to Macmillan in the process.  It was so effective,so Macmillan did it again the next year – only this time nationally.

Jamie Hutchinson, 35, who is a framework resident, organised the coffee morning at Framework’s Sherwood Street centre.

Jamie said the cause was close to his heart as his aunty had been recentl diagnosed with mouth cancer.

Jamie organised a Macmillan coffee morning in 2012 from his hospital bed, and said he would like to raise as much as he can today.

At Duffy’s Optometrists on Church Street, a coffee morning was organised for collegues that have been affected by cancer.

Bethany Kirkwood said: “Our collegue, Lou, had a year off fighting cancer, and collegues in other branches have been affected.

“We raised £250 last year, so it’s nice to give back.”

At the Hive, in the Four Seasons shopping centre, Robert Byrant from Age friendly Nottinghamshire was serving up cakes, along with volunteers from the friends coffee group that meets there every Tuesday.

Sarah Monsoon, a spokesperson for the Four Seasons said: “We raised £215.00 in two hours and met a lot of lovely people who are going to come back to our Tuesday morning coffee mornings too.”