Serving up cakes for a cause
On Friday we threw open the doors of Park House to serve up a mouthwatering selection of cakes as part of the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning, the annual charity event in aid of McMillan Cancer Support.
Our Partners Rita Gupta and Anne Leiper were joined by clients and distinguished guests including local MP Mr Ranil Jayarwardena, members of the Eversley Parish Council, and local business owners, to enjoy coffee, cake and a chat.
Our office meeting room was turned into an elegant salon with round tables, crisp white tablecloths and elegant cake stands piled with mouthwatering cakes generously sponsored by De Vere Warbrook House. Our own staff also baked cakes for the occasion, as did a couple of our guests, to provide a magnificent selection worthy of the Great British Bake Off – and not a soggy bottom in sight!
Our special guests Mr David Saunderson, Regional Communications Officer for Macmillan spoke movingly of his own experience of losing close family members to cancer – and of those who beat the illness. In an age when over 50% of cancer patients do survive, the charity’s work was as much about supporting those people post-treatment as well as those just diagnosed.
Mr Saunderson concluded by saying:
“Our thanks go to the Leiper Gupta team and their guests for creating such a wonderful event and for raising money for Macmillan so we can provide vital support and services for people affected by cancer.”
Our local MP Mr Ranil Jayarwardena kindly made the business card draw, presenting the delighted winner with a bottle of champagne. He also remarked how he was pleased to be involved with such as worthy cause, and that he would be making a donation using the Gift Aid scheme, which enable charities to claim an addition 25p on every £1 donated.
Our guests responded by entering the “Count the Cake Spots” competition, with two worthy winners each receiving a feature cake donated by Waitrose Yateley. They also donated generously, with their contributions rounded up by Leiper Gupta Family Lawyers Ltd and boosted by Gift Aid to a magnificent total of £551.25.
Our Partner Rita Gupta was delighted with the success of the event:
“We were thrilled that so many people took time out of their day to think about those with cancer, and to contribute so generously to the Macmillan appeal. As a firm of family lawyers, we have seen firsthand the dramatic effect cancer can have on every member of a family, not just a parent or a child, and the stress it can place on them as a unit.”
For more details of the money raised across the UK for Macmillan Cancer Support, go to http://coffee.macmillan.org.uk/.