Members of a Colne Valley family served up strawberry teas to raise cash for charity.
Lorna Wray, her mother-in-law Anne and sister-in-law Stacey Hall were joined by Lorna’s best friend Maxine Armitage to host a Sparkling Strawberry Tea at Golcar Liberal Club for Breast Cancer Care.
The fundraisers all live in Golcar and Slaithwaite.
Lorna said: “Anne, my mother-in-law, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007 and is now in remission. So as a family who have experienced breast cancer first-hand, we want to give something back to Breast Cancer Care. Holding a strawberry tea is a fun way to bring together people from the local community while also raising money for Breast Cancer Care.”
Along with the cakes and homemade treats, there was a raffle, games, stalls and a chance to try out beauty treatments.
Georgie Burchell, of Breast Cancer Care, said: “We’re so grateful to Lorna and family for holding a strawberry tea in aid of Breast Cancer Care. The money they raise will help Breast Cancer Care continue to provide a unique range of support including reliable information, one-to- one support over the phone and online from nurses and people who’ve been diagnosed themselves. Every year around 58,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK so there’s never been such an urgent need for our support services.”
The charity’s Strawberry Tea summer fundraising campaign runs until August 31.
Success was brewing when Christians, Muslims and other members of the community joined forces to drink tea for charity.
The Community Tea Party was held at Dewsbury Minster to pour cash into the coffers of Huddersfield’s Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice.
More than 100 guests attended the event and £400 was raised for the hospice, which supports children with life shortening conditions.
Food, drinks, a raffle, henna tattoos and nail art were also on offer.
Dewsbury Minster teamed up with the Spen Valley branch of The Ahmadiyya Muslim Association to hold the tea party. But it was tinged with sadness as organisers were aware that the Forget Me Not hospice was the last Charity of the Month chosen by Batley and Spen Labour MP Jo Cox, who died after being attacked outside her constituency surgery in Birstall.
Arif Ahmad, president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association in Spen Valley, thanked everyone for their generosity and said the event was a great example of people from differing backgrounds working together.
“Some of my Muslim friends who have lived all their life in Dewsbury have never visited the Minster or any type of church. They were really happy to attend the event and were impressed by the Minster – both the building and the team who run it.”
An Upper Denby woman spread a little magic for a charity which helped her dad.
Emma Harper, 35, held a Fairy Garden Party at her home in memory of her father who died two years ago.
She and her friends raised £321.50 for Marie Curie, which provides care and support for people living with any terminal illness.
Emma said: “We didn’t have hospice care or even end of life support from the hospital, so when Marie Curie came into our lives at the end of a very long journey I finally felt I could be my Dad’s little girl again, and be allowed to be sad and scared.
“Without the support of Marie Curie I would never have had chance to stop and take in how wonderful my Dad and his life was. They helped me help him and the rest of my family. You can’t stop the pain of losing someone, but you can learn to live with it.”
Katie Grinter, local community fundraiser for Marie Curie in Huddersfield, said: “I had the greatest pleasure in meeting Emma and her friends after the party. Emma’s garden was still filled with fairies and felt very magical. I want to thank them all for coming together to support Marie Curie.”
Anyone who would like to hold a garden party or other fundraiser for Marie Curie can contact Katie at the local fundraising office on 01274 386190 or visit www.mariecurie.org.uk
A football competition backed by local firms has achieved its goal by aising thousands of pounds for good causes.
Nine teams consisting of 63 players took to the pitches at Leeds Road Playing Fields in Huddersfield for the John Cotton Football World Cup.
Each team was backed for the event by a different company. Sponsorship of the teams netted £7,900 which will go towards Mirfield textile firm John Cotton’s target of £100,000 for chosen charities during its centenary year.
Damian Williamson, of John Cotton Nonwovens Division, said: “It was a great day with some competitive games played for a really good cause. In total, all the sponsorships raised just under £8,000 so we were really pleased with that and hope it will go a long way to hitting the target set this year.”
Firms sponsoring teams were Curtis Wool Direct, Roberts Mart, Standard Wool, Wilson Knowles Ltd, Advance Forwarding, 10 Associate Creative Agency, Sleepeezee, Irwin Mitchell and Lloyds Bank
To celebrate 100 years in business, John Cotton MBE has set his staff the challenge of raising £100,000 for chosen charities – and “give back” to the community which has supported them throughout the century.
The chosen charities are the Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, Macmillan Cancer Support, Kirkwood Hospice, the Yorkshire Cancer Centre and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
The next big fundraising event will be a charity bike ride in September which will see a team of seven riders cycle from a John Cotton factory in Poland to the family firm’s Mirfield headquarters.
To donate, go to uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/JCCC
