Family, friends and community contacts joined residents and team members at all 21 Colten Care homes on a ‘glittering’ approach to the Macmillan Coffee Morning.
As well as cuppas and freshly baked cakes, homes in Dorset, Hampshire, Wiltshire and West Sussex marked the annual fundraiser with music, quizzes, raffles and a Willy Wonka-style ‘Golden Cupcake’ hunt.
Among the tempting cakes and pastries at each home was one containing an edible filling of gold leaf or gold sugar balls secretly hidden inside.
The anticipation was evident at Abbey View in Sherborne when residents spotted that a bottle of bubbly was the prize for the lucky recipient.
Companion Bev de Bruyn said: “As we went around offering cupcakes, Brian Moreby randomly chose one from the platter intrigued by the prospect of ‘striking gold’ inside and winning a prize. After we had all complimented the chef on the delicious baking, Brian declared that he thought he might have just eaten the golden one. With that, we checked the base of the paper cupcake holder which our chef had secretly marked with a star. The added evidence was Brian’s very shiny lips which looked mysteriously golden!”
A delighted Brian went on to share the winning bubbly with his visiting daughters in the sunshine of the Abbey View garden, saying: “This was a lovely morning and all for a worthy cause.”
At Colten Care’s Avon Cliff in Bournemouth, where the cupcake winner was Home Manager Theresa Sales, fellow residents spoke of their pleasure in taking part in the coffee morning.
Derek Parker said: “It was great fun, and we were really pleased to be able to do our bit.”
There were similar sentiments among residents at Colten Care’s dedicated dementia care home Fernhill in Longham which hosted a live coffee morning performance from Time2Shine singer Joanna.
Avril Morris and Kiki Tormey, who both live at the Outstanding-rated home, described the coffee morning as “lovely” and “fabulous” respectively.
Elaine Farrer, Colten Care’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “Our residents and team members are huge supporters of the Macmillan Coffee Morning. It is a much-anticipated date on our events calendar each year. That’s because it combines four of our favourite things in one go: sharing a lovely experience with each other; welcoming friends and family to come along and join us; having fun raising money for a deserving cause; and, of course, indulging in fresh, delicious homemade cakes!”
Since 1990, the Macmillan Coffee Morning has brought together millions of people from across the UK to have fun and raise money.
It is the Macmillan charity’s biggest annual fundraising event to support people living with cancer.
