Havant MP Alan Mak showed his support for Macmillan and heard about the support the charity offers by meeting a cancer survivor from Emsworth during a World’s Biggest Coffee Morning event in Parliament.
More than 220,000 coffee morning events were held around the UK to raise money for Macmillan over the last month. Following the success of the national event Macmillan hosted a coffee morning in the House of Commons where MPs had the opportunity to learn more about some of the services that Macmillan provides.
Mr Mak attended the Commons event and met Emsworth resident Kate Corney, who is a cancer survivor, hearing about how the charity helped her deal with the emotional, physical and mental challenges of living with cancer.
Mr Mak said: “Macmillan’s coffee morning is a fantastic annual fixture and I was really glad to have the opportunity to attend one in Parliament. Hearing about Kate’s inspirational fight against cancer really highlighted the vital support Macmillan offers directly to people affected by cancer. As the number of people living with cancer increases, these Macmillan coffee mornings give an important opportunity to raise funds for a worthy cause both in Westminster and across Havant.”
Kate described the coffee mornings as a “fantastic way to raise funds and awareness” for an “extraordinary charity”.
She added: “Macmillan have given me and my family essential support throughout my cancer journey. I met my Macmillan nurse when I was diagnosed and she has been there for me ever since. I learned about my cancer with the help of Macmillan booklets and the Macmillan website. I often visit the Macmillan centre in my hospital. The volunteers are extremely welcoming and always offer me a cup of tea and a biscuit. I had my wig fitted at the centre, had some holistic therapy at the centre and recently I have been visiting the centre for counselling. There is no doubt that life with cancer would be much harder without Macmillan.”
The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning raised £27million in 2015 and over £138million to date, making it one of the UK’s most successful charity fundraising event of its sort.
It is aimed at getting friends, colleagues or neighbours together for a coffee morning, with every donation to Macmillan helping to ensure that no one faces cancer alone. For more information visit http://coffee.macmillan.org.uk/Home.aspx#.VClo2pRdVsE
Picture: Alan Mak MP with Emsworth resident and cancer survivor Kate Corney