For every pound Alyson Clifton raises for an Oxfordshire based cancer support centre, is also a nod to her late parents Joyce and George. She has taken The Hummingbird Centre to her heart in memory of the couple, who both died from cancer when Aly was still in her 20s, and for the last eight years she has been quietly fund raising for it. But in her latest effort, she been shouting from the rooftops – well her social media channels. She teamed up with the Bicester Tesco Community Team to host an online auction – and products have been flying out of the door making a tidy sum for The Hummingbird Centre, based in Launton, near Bicester. In fact, it has been so successful, she’s twice increased her fundraising target which now stands at £50,000 by the end of the year.
So far, she has raised £26,400 and also bought two weatherproof seating pods for the centre, which were heavily used during COVID. Now they are used to give the centre more space. But it’s her latest fund raiser that’s been catching the eye of regulars and social media followers of her café Bicester Bean Coffee Shop and Café, at Windmill Nurseries, London Road, Bicester. Initially people donated a few items which she sold online. But then the Tesco team spotted her posts on social networking site Facebook, and have been donating trolley loads.
Aly said: “The lovely Simon from Tesco got in touch after seeing some of my auctions on Facebook and they donated so much stuff that it has helped me raise around £4,000 in less than two months. My cafe looked like a shop for a while there. The response from people has been blooming’ amazing – I can’t thank people enough for all the support they’ve given to me.
“The Hummingbird Centre is such an amazing local charity and unfortunately, we all know someone affected by cancer.
“I lost my lovely Mum and Dad to the big C when I was in my 20s – way too early – and how I wish there had been a place like The Hummingbird Centre back then, so my fund raising is all in their memory.”
Mechelle Harris, founder of The Hummingbird Centre, said: “We are delighted Aly has taken The Hummingbird Centre to her heart. She puts in an incredible amount of work not only running her business, but also raising thousands of pounds for us so that we can support our community in their hour of need.
“She’s a wonderful ambassador and obviously a fantastic auctioneer.”
Keep an eye on her social media account on Facebook ‘Bicester Bean Coffee Shop & Café’ for more auction items.
Article written by Sam McGregor sjmcgregor2017@gmail.com