By Callum Ludwig
Mont De Lancey’s Historic Homestead hosted a Cuppa for Cancer event on Thursday 1 June in support of the Cancer Council’s Biggest Morning Tea initiative.
Attendees enjoyed a fantastic spread and bought up raffle tickets to support the effort and have a chance at winning a prize.
One of the event organisers Natalie Pye said this is the 21st year of a fundraising event in the Wandin community.
“It’s a great venue for it here, we did have it at the hall in Wandin for a while but here it is a bit more personal and cosy, and we are just trying to catch up and raise as much money as we can,” she said.
“Personally, my mum has had six lots of cancer and two of the other girls that help coordinate the event have lost or know someone that’s had cancer, it’s important to everyone because I think not one person hasn’t been affected by cancer.”
As of Thursday 1 June, $8,140,404 has been raised by 22,053 registered Biggest Moning Tea events.
Ms Pye said for those with cancer affecting someone close to them, support is very important.
“Especially if it’s, a close partner if you’ve lost your favourite person, it’s quite lonely, and even if you’ve got family around, it’s still lonely if you’ve lost someone that you’re with every day,” she said.
“The donations are just mind-boggling every year, we’re shocked by the generosity, it’s just lovely.”
Nola Sharp from Wandin Toastmasters was the event MC and has also freshly baked the scones each year, getting up in the early hours of the morning to have them ready to go.
The event followed the Craft A Cure for Cancer group’s exhibition which ran throughout May in the Ray Oliver Gallery, with items still available for purchase.
Lorraine Dunbar is from the group and said members make whatever crafts they like to, from toys and baby items to hats and scarves and sell them to raise money for the Cancer Council.
“We’re up to $92,00 overall doing this and they are wonderful to us here, having us up in the gallery for a whole month,” she said.
“My daughter died from cancer in 2000 at 35, too young and you feel like you’ve got to do something, fight back any way you can. There’s not much you can do, but all you can do is maybe help efforts like the Biggest Morning Tea where we can.”
