A Macmillan Coffee Morning at ECL’s Head Office has raised £370 for the cancer charity.
Hosted by the Charity team on Friday, 30th September, the day featured coffee and cake, a baking competition, plus a well-supported dress-down day.
The bake-off had more entries than ever, and this year the winner would be chosen from a voting system, with everyone having a chance to pick their favourite from all the delicious home-baked goodies brought in.
Tracey Penwright added,
“Many bakers were glad the previous winner Usha Kumar was not taking part this year with her famous bhajis – it gave everyone else a fair chance.”
As the votes were counted, the competition between first and second place looked incredibly close.
The final count saw Alison Lynch winning first prize for her scrumptiously light and tasty Strawberry Victoria Sponge Cake.
By a single vote, she clinched it, beating runner-up Mark Anderson, who had entered his baked homemade sausage rolls.
Alison remarked,
“I am happy I won but surprised as I don’t win anything, it must have been down to my supply of freshly laid eggs from Ellen Duckett”
The final count was so close, with just one vote setting 1st and 2nd place apart, our hosts felt it only fitting to whip up a runners-up prize, and as a last-minute gesture, Mark Anderson was handed a Muller Light Yogurt, which he accepted in good spirit.
Mark Anderson added,
“The Macmillan coffee morning bake-off is one of my favourite events and is well organised by Kirstie. This year was well supported, with some great entries. The competition was very high, and I was pleased that many people voted for my secret recipe for sausage rolls. I am proud to come second, even by just one vote. Not too sure what happened to the yoghurt, but I am sure it got muller’d.”
Kirstie Smith, HSEQT Co‑Ordinator and host, commented,
“What an amazing turnout yet again, and we beat the monies raised from our previous event. Seeing everyone get involved and trying to guess who made what was lovely.
It was so fantastic to end September with a high and donate such an amount to a worthy charity. I already can’t wait for our next charity event. I love giving back something to help others, as does everyone at ECL.”
Tracey Penwright, Tender team and host, added,
“It was another successful coffee morning. The charity team would like to thank everyone who supported this event by either finding the time to cook those fantastic sweet and savoury bakes, for donating shop-bought goodies, for taking part in the judging and being extremely generous as together we raised our best total to-date for the Macmillan cancer support charity.
We can’t wait to host this again next year, especially as the participants are getting so competitive and creative.”
The first Macmillan Coffee Morning took place in 1990, raising over £165.5 million for the charity.
Macmillan offers a broad range of cancer support services – including a free support line and a community of over 7,700 healthcare professionals. Funded almost entirely by donations with no government funding.
Every two minutes, someone in the UK is diagnosed with cancer. Over 2.5 million people are living with cancer in the UK, which is set to grow to almost 4 million by 2030.
ECL get involved in the MacMillan Coffee morning each year. And each year, without fail, the event is a smashing success, wholly down to the entire Head Office team being more than willing to donate cakes and prizes and take a bit of time out of their busy day to enjoy the baked goods. The money we raise is only possible because of the entire team’s support.
