Not that you ever need an excuse to enjoy a lovely cup of tea and a slice of spongecake, but today is the best excuse - Australia's Biggest Morning Tea raising vital funds for the Cancer Council.
Today thousands of people from across the Hunter hosted morning teas to raise money for cancer research and support programs throughout the region.
Now in its 24th year, Australia's Biggest Morning Tea is the Cancer Council's leading fundraising event and is the most successful of its kind in Australia. Throughout NSW, the organisation hopes to recruit 11, 100 morning tea hosts, including 1,100 in the Hunter alone, and raise nearly $5 million.
"It's one of the largest fundraisers for us at the Cancer Council in the Hunter and it's probably one of the easiest because people can get together, have a bit of cake and a tea or coffee and put a couple of dollars in the jar because very dollar raised goes to support people with cancer," said Hunter Manager Shayne Connell.
Cancer figures throughout Australia are staggering, one Australian is diagnosed with cancer approximately every five minutes - the length of an average tea break.
Before the age of 85, 1 in 2 Australians will be diagnosed with cancer and it's estimated that over 130,000 people will be diagnosed this year, an unbelievable 350 people per day.
Shayne Connell says all of the money is injected into cancer support services and research to help bring these numbers down.
