Over ?350 was raised for charity by Fairbairn Private Bank staff, together with Java Express, at their “World’s Biggest Coffee Morning” event on Friday 30 September 2011. The coffee morning included a cake baking competition, with Java Express offering its selection of indulgent hot and cold drinks, from flavoured coffees and frappes to decadent mochachinos and frothy hot chocolates, delivered to the office. Staff who ordered a drink had the chance to win one of several prizes indicated by a gold star at the bottom of their cup, and picture and caption quizzes were held to raise further funds. The sponsorship support from Java Express enabled the charity committee to retain a portion of the takings from the drinks orders. The World's Biggest Coffee Morning is Macmillan Cancer Support's largest fundraising event. They ask people across the UK - and sometimes further afield - to hold a coffee morning, where donations on the day are made to Macmillan. Last year 43,000 people signed up to hold a coffee morning, raising over ?8 million. Macmillan Cancer Support is one of Fairbairn Private Bank’s four staff-nominated charities for 2011, and throughout the year the bank’s staff have been raising funds through dress-down days and other events, such as the recent “Talk like a Pirate Day”. This was held on 16 September and fundraising activities included a fancy dress competition, a treasure hunt and a pizza sale. This fun-filled day raised an additional ?270 for the selected charities. Julie Moore, Chair of the Fairbairn Private Bank Charity Committee, commented: “It was great to team up with Java Express to put on our fundraising coffee morning. We appreciate its generous support, as well as the support of Fancie That, who provided the helium for the balloons. As usual our staff bakers put on a fantastic spread, and everyone enjoyed a wonderfully indulgent start to their weekend, with the added benefit of raising funds for this worthy charity.” Virginia Harding, manager of Java Express added: “It was our pleasure to help Fairbairn Private Bank to raise money for this extremely worthy cause. Macmillan raise 99% of their income from charitable donations and mornings like this, which is why they are so important and why we wanted to get involved. Our team of Barista’s Steven, Pasquale, Tyler, Monika and Salvo relished the challenge of being part of the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning. It was a busy but fun morning and a great way to raise money, it really is amazing what a cup of coffee can do!” Ends