Lincolnshire tearoom raises £450 for SSAFA on opening day

30 March 2022

An incredible £450 was raised at the Copper Kettle Tearoom in Grainthorpe, Lincolnshire last Sunday (September 19), when owners Amanda and Mark Bennett launched the tearoom with an event in aid of SSAFA. Home- and locally made cakes and ice cream were sold on the day.

Chris Lewis – walking the UK coastline for SSAFA – was their motivation when he, his partner Kate Barron, and dog Jet stayed there earlier in September in a shepherds’ hut provided by Mark and Amanda.

Chris, a former Para, set off in August 2017 from Swansea to walk the entire coastline of the UK to raise money for SSAFA. He recently featured in a BBC Wales documentary The Long Walk Home.

Amanda and Mark said: “We want to say a massive thank you to everybody – around 160 people - who came and supported us on our opening day and donated to SSAFA. We met so many lovely people both from the village and beyond and received lots of lovely compliments on both the cakes and the tearoom.”

Aside from Chris Lewis, Mark’s other inspiration was his grandfather who was the skipper of a Royal Navy minesweeper during World War Two. His service led to him developing PTSD.

Mark added: “PTSD was not a recognised condition at that time, and he subsequently died from it. My grandma and dad would not have made it through this time without the support they received from their local charity of the day, and this is why we’re so passionate about SSAFA.”

Mark Trainor, Divisional Secretary of SSAFA Grimsby and Cleethorpes, said: “It was an absolute pleasure supporting Mark and Amanda before and during their first-ever fundraiser for SSAFA, which was a fantastic success.”

This article was originally published in September 2021