Macmillan coffee mornings take place across Teesside

COFFEE mornings to raise funds for the fight against cancer are taking place across Teesside this week.

The events are some of thousands around the UK as part of the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning campaign organised by cancer support charity Macmillan.

Five care homes across the region co-hosted a coffee afternoon at St Francis of Assisi Church, Ingleby Barwick.

They include Ingleby Care Home, Ingleby Barwick, The Beeches Care Home, Stockton-on-Tees, Mandale House Care Home, Thornaby, The Gables Care Home, Middlesbrough and Queens Meadow Care Home, Hartlepool.

Elderly residents, friends, family and staff all enjoyed a cuppa and a cake, as well as stalls selling candles, handmade chocolates, make-up and children’s books.

There was also an armchair aerobics session with Emma Bryan, a specialist practitioner from Nouveau Wellbeing, a Billingham-based social enterprise.

The event raised £160 with further events taking place at each of the homes on Friday, as part of the national campaign, to raise additional funds for Macmillan.

Kirsty Walsh is the activities coordinator at Ingleby Care Home, one of the hosts of the event.

She said: “It’s great to be able to bring the residents from our sister homes across Teesside to a joint event. They all love seeing new faces and mixing with new people.

“The event also raised a great amount for Macmillan, which is a charity close to our hearts. We really try to give them as much support as possible and look forward to hosting coffee mornings at the homes this Friday.”