West Ham MP Lyn Brown gets baking for World’s Biggest Coffee Morning

MP for West Ham, Lyn Barber is a having a cake sale in Council offices to raise money for Macmillan Cancer. L to R; Jack Kessler, Lyn Barber and Francis Parrott SEptember 28 2012

by Melissa York, Reporter Sunday, October 7, 2012
5:00 PM

West Ham MP Lyn Brown baked up a storm with a little help from her Newham friends to raise nearly £900 for a cancer charity.

MP for West Ham, Lyn Barber is a having a cake sale in Council offices to raise money for Macmillan Cancer. SEptember 28 2012

Raising a total of £886.83, the cake sale and raffle hosted in the council’s Dockside offices was held in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning.

Following the death of Ms Brown’s mother from cancer last year, she decided to get really stuck into fundraising for the charity who provide vital practical, medical, and financial support for people with the disease and their families.

Cakes were baked by Ms Brown, Sarah Ruiz of Newham Voluntary Agencies Council, Helen Page of Newham PCT, and the local Women’s Institute.

Ms Brown said: “I want to say a big thank you because the council’s staff have been really kind and generous.

“I’m delighted because my aim had been to raise £500. I spent three nights baking a dozen cakes and friends plus the kick WI swung into action to help with cake-making which was wonderful. I’m very grateful to them.

“My mother died of breast cancer 18 months ago. I wanted to do something a bit more hands-on than simply giving my support to the cause.”

Council staff and councillors, including Deputy Mayor Cllr Lester Hudson, joined the team effort to help Ms Brown raise as much as possible.

World’s Biggest Coffee Morning is Macmillan Cancer Support’s biggest fundraising event of the year, involving 51,000 people in the UK last year raising a record-breaking £10million.

Cllr Hudson said: “I am delighted that the council was able to support the coffee morning for this wonderful cause.

“The fight against cancer is an important one as we all know someone who has been affected.”