From little things, big things grow

From humble beginnings, the event has grown into the biggest and longest running in the state thanks to the incredible overwhelming support.

Tomorrow the Spencer Street funeral home will again transform into a makeshift café to serve about 2000 guests.

A place usually reserved for sadness will fill with laughter and colour.

William Barrett and Sons director Adrian Barrett said that $284,000 had been raised for the Cancer Council of WA over the past 24 years.

He hopes this year will be a record breaker.

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“The work days here are dealing with people during immense sadness so to be able to host a positive event like this every year is really refreshing,” event coordinator Adrian Barrett said.

“Too many families continue to be devastated by cancer so there’s no doubt that we all need to keep coming together to fund further research and vital support services.”

The Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea will be held between 9am-1pm.

Entry is $5 which includes tea/coffee, homemade morning tea or a sausage sizzle lunch.

There will be entertainment by Bunbury’s Festival Brass and up and coming young performer Charlotte Rowe.

Primary schools performing include South Bunbury, Dalyellup and Bunbury.

For more information go to www.facebook.com/bar rettfunerals or email abmt@barrettfunerals.com.au

There will be some amazing prizes in the raffles on sale at tomorrow’s Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea so make sure you’re in it to win it.

There are about 50 prizes on offer, some of which include:

In the silent auction, there is a Sherrin football signed by this year’s West Coast Eagles team, a signed, framed Carlton jumper and Lleyton Hewitt signed, framed shirt.

To place a bid on a silent auction item, attend the event or email abmt@barrettfunerals.com.au

Otis McHaffie is living proof of the value of medical research.

For this reason, he has been chosen as an ambassador of the 25th Anniversary of the Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea at William Barrett and Sons.

Part of that celebration will include highlighting the success of medical research.

That is something Otis will play a key part in.

He is a brave and bubbly five-year-old Australind boy who is half-way through a gruelling three-and-a-half year chemotherapy treatment schedule for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.

The treatment has a 90 per cent survival rate thanks to medical advances.

In 1960, the survival rate for all children with the diagnosis was zero.

For Otis’ parents Brea Guppy and Sam McHaffie the diagnosis in May, 2016 shocked them to the core.

“I didn’t hear everything they were telling us after that first sentence, it was all just a blur,” Brea said.

“It took a long time for it to sink in but when I did I was really grateful that the treatment outcomes were positive and that we have so much hope.”

The couple also have a toddler, Max, who was a newborn when the diagnosis came.

At that time Brea and Otis travelled to Princess Margaret Hospital and unable to return to Bunbury until after the first nine months of intense treatment.

“Otis goes through so much but he’s amazing, he’s still such a happy kid so we feel really lucky that once this treatment is over, we’ll still have him to hold,” Brea said.

“But I still feel really strongly that the research needs to keep going for childhood cancers and many others.”

Otis’ family members have long supported the event and this year, they have an extra special reason to celebrate.