The Mead’s Afternoon Teas

 “I lost my wife to Melanoma in 2015 and have fundraised for Melanoma Focus fairly consistently ever since.”

When Martyn’s wife Tracy was diagnosed with melanoma, she decided to put on an afternoon tea to raise money in support our research into melanoma. The event was a huge success which Martyn and his family have continued to this day as a legacy to Tracy and her support for the charity.

Sadly, Tracy passed away in August 2015, but her husband, son, sister and parents have kept this tradition alive by hosting their own afternoon tea events year after year.

Just before the UK went into its first official lock down, Martyn and his family hosted their most recent afternoon tea. They had a fun filled afternoon with teas, sandwiches, and some wonderful cakes. They also did a raffle, a guess the weight of the hamper competition and a fun auction which included the most sought-after items of the time: toilet roll and dried pasta!

The afternoon tea raised an amazing £2,460, their event also raised awareness about melanoma which is one of Martyn’s aims.  Martyn said that through fundraising he hopes to ‘help raise awareness of melanoma and the dangers of not being safe in the sun and help fund research and clinical trials that will one day help bring the day that melanoma and similar cancers can be better understood and beaten.’

Aside from organising the wonderful tea parties, Martyn has also fundraised through several mighty bike rides and has taken part in a Coast-to-Coast challenge on behalf of Melanoma Focus. His son, Alex and some his URFC U15s friends and coaches, bungee jumped at the London O2 and Alex also completed the Woburn Triathlon with his aunt Ashlea. Maureen, Tracy’s mum completed a Melanoma Focus fundraiser by walking 100 Miles in May, May being the Melanoma Awareness month.

We asked Martyn what advice and tips he would give to somebody who wanted to fundraise for Melanoma Focus, this is what he said:

“Include friends and advertise on social media to gain a bigger support field be that for raising funds or merely helping with the event itself.”

We would like to say a big thank you to Martyn and his family for their continued support.

If you would like to organise your own fundraising event, visit: https://melanomafocus.org/get-involved/