Cancer charity boost through craft fair

Elsie French, Hazel Black and Carol Magill pictured at the antiques and craft fair held in Whitehead Presbyterian Church on Saturday. INCT 20-419-RM

The event, which was held at Whitehead Presbyterian Church Hall last Saturday, was organised by the East Antrim branch of Leukaemia & Lymphoma NI.

With the prestigious cycle race passing by in the afternoon, as well as some inclement weather conditions to contend with, numbers took a slight drop compared to previous years.

However, the fair remained a success, raising over £1250 for the charity with additional funds still expected to come in.

Hazel Black, chair of the East Antrim branch, said: “Unfortunately it couldn’t be helped that the fair is taking place on the same day as the Giro, as it was organised well in advance, but we did get a big crowd in the morning.”

“Any money raised by the East Antrim branch will go towards the Northern-Ireland wide charity, which carries out its research at the labs in City Hospital and Queen’s University Belfast.

“The charity researches the causes and hopefully a cure for [blood cancers] leukaemia and lymphoma.

“We have two fairs a year; the antiques and craft sale and a Christmas craft fair. How it works is that all stall holders pay £25 for their stall and then they keep what they earn. We also charge admission, serve teas and coffees and have a tombola.

“The church has been very good to us in letting us use the hall and we always have had such great support from the community as well.”

The fair is the latest in a series of successful fundraisers for the charity, which also benefitted from the Lenten Lunches held by the United Parish of Saint Patrick’s Whitehead and St John’s Islandmagee.

Meanwhile, Peggy’s Closet, a pop-up shop set up in the village by local mother and daughter team Shirley and Ashleigh Sinclair, also generated hundreds of pounds for the charity in December.

Operating for two days only in Victoria Avenue, Peggy’s Closet stocked a range of pre-owned and new clothes and accessories.

The venture was organised in memory of Shirley’s late mother Margaret ‘Peggy’ McCullough, a long-time supporter of Leukaemia and Lymphoma NI.

Previously known as the Northern Ireland Leukaemia Research Fund, the charity was established in 1964. It was rebranded as Leukaemia and Lymphoma NI in November of last year.