By Jamie Salter and Shelby Brooks
Local residents are spreading awareness and raising funds for people impacted by cancer by taking part in Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea.
An event was hosted by Inner Wheel Club of Pakenham at the Deep Creek Golf Club where guests played a number of games and heard from an inspiring guest speaker.
The Biggest Morning Tea was organised by Pam Chalmers, Maureen Lindau, Jenny Watson, Jan Ahern, Marcia Rook, Deb James and Bronwyn Kennett.
Tickets cost $20 per person with a luncheon of hot soup, sandwhiches, cakes and slices.
The fundraising event generated $2550 which will be donated to the Cancer Council.
Inner Wheel’s Pam Chalmers has been organising the morning tea for the past five years and said this year’s event was a great success.
“I think the guests we had were happy with how the day panned out and I had a wonderful committee,“ she said.
“The event is held to make people aware of cancer – it doesn’t discriminate.
“It’s something that’s close to my heart. Most people know someone affected by cancer and our case it was my daughter who has now recovered.“
Quilts of Valour Australia secretary Helen Comport shared the story of how her charity was formed, which provides hand made quilts to currently serving Australian Forces personnel and veterans touched by war.
Following the injury of her son in Afghanistan in 2010, Helen learnt about the American Quilts of Valour and how touched injured soldiers were by the warmth of the quilts and decided to launch her own initiative in Australia with support from he Victorian Quilters Guild and Berwik RSL sub-branch.
The committee then held a raffle of donated prizes.
Pam said she was thrilled with the turnout to the event.
“We had good supporters who have donated to us over the years – the community has been wonderful,“ she said.
“The Golf Club and Kelly O’Shea has been really good to us.“
Pam will now hand over the baton to another member of the club who will take over organising the event in 2023.
“The committee have done a fantastic job over the past five years but there needs to be someone with different ideas to take it on and make it grow,“ Pam said.
The Biggest Morning Tea was held on Wednesday 1 June.
