More than 'just a coffee morning' for George

Lili and Josh, whose son, George, has myotubular myopathy, and Lili’s friend, Amy, contacted us to say that they were hosting a coffee morning in support of the Myotubular Trust. The coffee morning date was set for a couple of weeks later.

Lili and Amy

What Lili, Josh and Amy actually achieved in that time was staggering and way, way more than a simple coffee morning. Indeed, there was coffee and cake (lots and lots of cake) but there was so much more. There was a tombola, a bouncy castle, face painting, a craft table with various cartoon pictures of children with additional needs such as a tracheostomy and feeding tubes, football cards to win a signed Newcastle United picture, and the star of the show… a raffle with over 30 prizes to be won.

Lili told us, “We honestly couldn’t believe the response we had, to what was supposed to be to our small coffee morning. The day was an absolute hit and we have already had many people who attended asking when the next one is, so that won’t be the last one. And George had a great time and spent the full fundraiser on his speaking valve, no ventilation! I wanted to arrange the event to express my gratitude to the Trust as you helped and supported us through the hardest times of our lives giving us the knowledge and guidance in getting George to where he is now, if it wasn’t for the amazing support network of parents like yourselves, I wouldn’t know where we would be right now.’”

Generous donations from local people and businesses

The support for the event from the local community and friends and family was incredible. Blyth Town Football Club provided the venue free of charge, M&S and Waitrose donated cakes and biscuits and Lili, Amy and Lili’s brother set to with baking traybake and homemade cakes. The bouncy castle was provided at a discount rate and the stunning balloon arch was donated free of charge, as was the face painting courtesy of one of Lili’s friends.

Amazing support!

Every single tombola and raffle prize was donated by people and businesses in Lili’s local area who wanted to help. In fact, Lili told us that they had so many donations that they had to keep some back ….for the next fundraiser! The raffle prizes were incredible and included beauty vouchers, cafe vouchers, meals out, golf for 4, family experiences such as swimming and paint balling, fitness vouchers, festival tickets and the mystery prize… a refurbished iPhone donated by Northumbrian water.

Big sister Nora

We are both impressed by, and grateful to Lili, Josh, Amy and to the many family members, friends and local businesses who contributed to making the event such a huge success. We were blown away when we saw the stunning photos and heard about what had been achieved.

Thank you all!