Cancer care could be hit by a £200,000 loss in income from Suffolk after charity Macmillan revealed that it expected to lose huge amounts from its annual coffee morning fundraiser.
The Macmillan Coffee Morning in September is one of the organisation’s biggest income generators, raising £306,000 in Suffolk every year.
Dozens of coffee mornings are usually held around the county but, amid the coronavirus crisis, more than two-thirds of coffee mornings this year are not expected to go ahead.
The charity believes its income from the event will fall by 70%, the equivalent of £127,473 in Suffolk.
MORE: Charity launches 100 miles challenge to plug Covid-19 funding gap
Louise Smith, a Macmillan information and support centre manager at Ipswich Hospital, has encouraged people to hold events where they can in a safe and socially-distanced way.
“When you hold a coffee morning – whether socially-distanced or virtual – you’re helping people like me deliver the very best support we can,” she said.
“The pandemic has brought a great deal of extra stress for people living with cancer.
“They worry about contracting the virus with a weakened immune system, and how they can access financial and practical support when it feels like the whole world has turned on its head.
“Without the donations raised by events like Macmillan’s coffee morning, specialist cancer services like ours wouldn’t exist today. It’s as simple as that.”
Ruth Godfrey, from Barham, was diagnosed with breast cancer at the end of last year and said: “Macmillan has been a huge part of helping me through lockdown, chemotherapy and cancer during these past few months.
“They’ve been at the end of a phone line for advice not only for me, but also my family - especially when my dad passed away in April with cancer while I was in the middle of treatment myself.”
The 55-year-old is going to hold a ‘Macmillan Marvellous Mindset Morning’ instead of a coffee morning this year, as an online virtual event where she will give free positive mindset training in exchange for donations.
The charity is now encouraging people to take part however they can, from socially distanced coffee mornings to virtual meetings online.
To organise one of your own, head to the Macmillan Cancer Support website here.
MORE: Suffolk only getting 1 in 6 pneumonia vaccines needed amid global shortage
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here