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This month, we’re putting Lily Huggins and her family into our fundraiser Hall of Fame for organising a Cuppa for The Christie event, with Lily being just 11 years old.
Lily decided she wanted to raise money for The Christie Charity as her grandad is a patient at The Christie hospital. Before his treatment at The Christie, Lily’s grandad was treated at Leighton Hospital, with Lily and her mum Jenny organising a charity coffee and cake morning in support of this treatment.
When Lily’s grandad was referred to The Christie, Lily decided to organise a similar event for The Christie Charity, hosting a Cuppa for the Christie event in February 2025. Cuppa for The Christie is where a group of friends, family members or colleagues get together to have a brew, a slice of cake and a catch up. Every attendee donates a small amount to The Christie Charity – so you can fundraise while having fun.
Lily and her family baked a wide selection of cakes for the Cuppa event including cupcakes, lemon drizzle cake, old school tray bakes and cookies. Alongside this, some family and friends donated home-baked cakes and treats. Lily’s dad Dave also cooked savoury quiches which he sold for £4 each – these sold out very quickly. Tea, coffee and soft drinks were available during the event too.
To invite people to their Cuppa for The Christie event, Lily and her family posted invitations through neighbours’ doors and sent details of the event to family and friends via WhatsApp and email. Lily also shared the event at school and at the local church she volunteers. On the morning of the event, Jenny and Dave also shared pictures of the cakes on Facebook.
During the Cuppa event, about 70 friends, family, neighbours and local residents turned up to show their support, either staying for a drink and a cake or taking away some treats to share later. Some people couldn’t attend the Cuppa event but donated money towards it, so Lily and Dave took them some cakes round after the event. Jenny said these people were really grateful to still be included.
After the Cuppa for The Christie event, Lily’s school wrote an article in their parents’ newsletter and posted about it on their social media platforms. The local church community also shared and celebrated the event during a church service.
