Castletown girls raise over £5000 for cancer charity
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More than £5000 was raised for a cancer charity by four Castletown girls who held a coffee morning in the village at the weekend.
The event at the Drill Hall on Saturday was organised by Katie Pearson, Erin Manson, Louise Tod and Terri McGovern. They came up with the idea as they have all known or lost someone close to them to cancer and are planning other fundraising ventures under the KELT (Katie, Erin, Louise and Terri) name.
Hundreds of people turned out for the coffee morning which also had bottle and baking stalls and a raffle.
A JustGiving page on social media raised £1400 before the event got under way, and on the day a further £2500 was added to the total. Since Saturday the amount has gone up again and stands at £5226.88, including £300 Gift Aid.
The girls and their families were delighted with the response from the public and local businesses and the amount raised for Macmillan Cancer Support.
Louise (12) described it as "mind blowing". She said: "We are so grateful to everyone and are really pleased with the outcome."
Katie (11) said it was "amazing" to raise so much money for the charity and thanked the community for its support. "Hundreds of people were here," she said.
Eleven-year-old Erin was thrilled with the reaction and said the event generated "a lot more than we thought".
Terri (11) was also delighted. She said the amount of money raised was "incredible" and just kept "going up and up".
She added: "It was more than we anticipated. We definitely have plans for other things."
Katie's mother Corrinda Pearson said: "We are overwhelmed by the response from the community. It was all the kids' idea. They wrote personal letters to businesses, put out all the flyers around the village and put posters in the shops.
"It was nice to see all the families involved raising money for something close to their hearts."
Claire McGovern said the response was "beyond belief" and added: "It is a good way of showing kids about community spirit and helping people."
Her husband, Ricky McGovern, added: "It shows what you can do when people come together."
Erin's mum, Emma Manson, commented: "I can't believe the response from the public and businesses. It has been astounding.
"It was all the girls' idea and it makes me very, very proud they wanted to raise money for Macmillan. They managed to arrange the biggest bottle stall and raffle Jenny Swanson has seen in her time as hall keeper."
Louise's mother, Joanne Tod, said: "I am really proud of the girls. They are a good group and work well together."
Afterwards, Louise Mackay, fundraising manager for Macmillan, said: "Being told you have cancer can affect so much more than your health – it can also affect your family, your job, even your ability to pay the bills. But you’re still you.
"And, after over 100 years of helping people through cancer, we get what’s most important – that you’re treated as a person, not just a patient. At Macmillan we are so thankful to have supporters like Katie, Erin, Louise and Terri."
