For many people, not much beats a good cup of coffee in the morning, and this was especially the case at Liverpool’s Royal Hospital on Friday.
That was the day of the the annual fundraiser, the Macmillan ‘World’s Biggest Coffee Morning’ charity event, which took place all around the country to raise awareness and funds for cancer sufferers.
Many coffee shops around Liverpool and Merseyside took part, with the Royal Hospital hosting events to help raise money for research, including a live band, a raffle and even somebody being ‘brave to shave’, which involved a woman having her hair shaved off for charity.
The hospital aimed to raise up to £14,000 this year for the cancer research organisation, with all of the funds being invested locally to help patients in the Merseyside area, as part of £25m target nationally.
One of the stars of the day was 43-year-old Hannah Claire King, who agreed to shave her full set of hair in the name of cancer research. She decided to do it after her husband lost his uncle to liver cancer, and she managed to raise more than £1,400 with the help of friends and family.
YouTube: Macmillan Cancer
After six weeks of planning the event in excitement, the moment finally came for her to face the razor. Beforehand, she told JMU Journalism: “I’ve been really nervous this last week. All the support I’ve had has been brilliant. It’s overwhelming how much money I’ve raised and I’m really pleased with it.
“I’ve had colleagues going round to their friends and family and around the hospital to different departments trying to raise money. It’s really amazing though to watch people get behind you doing something like this.”
The event itself has been going since 1990 and has since spread into a UK-wide phenomenon, raising an incredible £138 million for Macmillan.
Sandra Metcalfe, a support officer who’s been working at Macmillan for 16 years, declared her pride for the event as well as the work that goes into it, telling JMU Journalism: “There’s just so much to do, but when the day comes and when you go home at the end, you are made up it’s over but it’s a fantastic day.
“You’ve got to do it – the money’s there. It’s such a massive fundraising event that it’s worth the effort.”