A coffee morning organised by local cancer survivor Opy Sufinar and held at Brook Way Activity Centre in Bradley Stoke on 30th September has raised more than £1,400 for cancer support charity Macmillan.
The venue hosted stalls, refreshments and performances; these included stalls for face painting, massage, raffles, a kids’ corner and a performance by the Meadowbrook Primary School Choir.
Opy has been dedicated to raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support after her own experience of dealing with cancer. Opy was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012, and she said she valued the support she received from Macmillan since that time. Opy has lived in the area since 2003 and is Indonesian by origin, but she said that having a different background or faith did not present any sort of barrier in the way she was treated by Macmillan; she found she made friends and became close to people within the organisation, who became a source of strength to her.
The first time Opy raised money for Macmillan was at her own home in 2014, when she raised £243. She was unable to do her usual fundraising in 2015 due to an operation she underwent, but again in 2016 Opy organised a coffee morning which raised around £1,300. This year, she has managed to raise £1,420! Opy says she initially got the idea of holding a coffee morning because she knows many people with different skills that they could showcase.
Opy’s husband, Boedy Hartanto, also took part in raising money with a ‘Brave the Shave’ which raised £80 this year, and £130 last year. Opy works at Meadowbrook Primary, and has two children who attend the school. The Meadowbrook Choir that performed at the Macmillan Coffee Morning includes children from Year 3 to Year 6 and will next be performing at Clifton Cathedral on 9th December.
If you would like to hear more about Opy’s relationship with Macmillan, and about her friendship with Sue, who gave her “confidence to do the event”, please listen to Opy’s BBC Radio Bristol interview at http://bit.ly/opy-sufinar
Photos: 1 Coffee morning organiser Opy Sufinar (centre) with Macmillan representatives Suzanne and Steve Killeen. 2 Boedy Hartanto (post-shave) with a coffee morning guest.
This article originally appeared in the November 2017 issue of the Bradley Stoke Journal news magazine (on page 43). The magazine is delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH, to 9,500 homes in Bradley Stoke, Little Stoke and Stoke Lodge. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.