It’s that time of year again; our annual Garrod Day Coffee Morning is on the 25th of November. Sir Archibald Garrod was an doctor who first described AKU as an inborn error of metabolism and noticed it was inherited in 1902. He had a childhood interest with colour variations, and he took particular notice of how the colour of urine changed. Due to this, he began to study alkaptonuria.
Every year patients, friends, family and colleagues from all over the world host their own Garrod Day Coffee Morning to celebrate the great man and raise awareness of AKU. This year will be even more monumental, as we celebrate the success of DevelopAKUre. This year will be the biggest coffee morning ever.
Garrod Day falls on the date of our annual patient workshop, which will be held in the centre of Liverpool. Our patient workshop will see patients from all over the UK coming together to meet other patients with AKU and learn more about the disease and how to cope and manage it. This year the theme will be on diet and exercise, including a chair-based exercise. We plan to hold an raffle with some exciting prizes and their will be loads of cakes.
If you are interested in hosting your coffee morning, please contact Juliet, our Fundraising Officer, at juliet@akusociety.org, and she can help you organise your coffee morning. We are also posting out free coffee morning kits full of advice on how you can host a successful coffee morning. Packs will be sent out to the UK and beyond, so no matter here you are based, please don’t be afraid to ask for one. Included in the kit are; posters, balloons, stickers, cupcake bunting and an advice booklet. It is the best thing to receive to kickstart your fundraising journey to Garrod Day.
We are very excited to celebrate Garrod Day and help others around the world host coffee mornings too. Keep an eye out on our social media channels for more details on Garrod Day and tips on how to hold a successful coffee morning (and delicious cake recipes!)
