Posted by 
Longridge Market’s star baker Janet Wallbank raised a record-breaking £2,250 when she hosted her annual Rosemere Cancer Foundation coffee morning last month.
Regular weekly trader Janet, who turned her home-baking hobby into a business after she and husband Jim retired from farming just over a decade ago, has been hosting a yearly coffee morning at Longridge Civiv Hall for the charity since 2015.
Collectively, her coffee mornings have raised almost £15,000 but this year’s achieved the event’s highest ever individual total.
Read more: Updated plan for new Longridge housing estate removes pond and loses open space
As well as serving refreshments and organising a bric-a-brac stall, Janet and her team of helpers boosted the coffee morning’s takings by auctioning a signed PNE shirt donated by estate agents Dewhurst Homes. The shirt achieved a top bid of £172. A wooden coffee table or bench, made by son Rob Wallbank, was also auctioned and achieved £50.
Janet’s other son Brian donated a wooden planter he had made that was raffled, while daughter Harriet Sharrock crafted a collection of bauble Christmas trees that sold for £10 each.
Harriet also organised two Facebook Christmas hamper raffles that supported the coffee morning, raising a further £400.
Janet said: “Thank you to everyone who helped, gifted auction items and raffle prizes and came along to support. We are delighted by the amount we’re able to donate to Rosemere Cancer Foundation this year. It’s a charity close to our hearts as my daughter-in-law Lindsay, Brian’s wife, nurses on Rosemere Cancer Centre’s in-patient Ribblesdale Ward.”
Yvonne Stott, the charity’s community and events fundraiser, said: “Congratulations to Janet and everyone involved in this year’s coffee morning for raising this magnificent donation. We are extremely grateful. I know Janet’s annual Rosemere coffee morning has become a bit of an institution and because of her baking skills, is eagerly anticipated.”
Rosemere Cancer Foundation works to bring world class cancer treatments and services to cancer patients from throughout Lancashire and South Cumbria being treated at Rosemere Cancer Centre, Lancashire and South Cumbria’s specialist regional cancer treatment and radiotherapy centre at the Royal Preston Hospital, and at another eight local hospital cancer units across the two counties.
Subscribe: Keep in touch directly with the latest headlines from Blog Preston, join our WhatsApp channel and subscribe for our twice-a-week email newsletter. Both free and direct to your phone and inbox.
Read more: See the latest Preston news and headlines
Read more: See the latest Ribble Valley news and headlines
