The creator of a major cancer fundraiser event that has raised over £290million has died.
Gillian (Jill) Phillips, who grew up in Stanmore, was the mastermind behind the Macmillan Coffee Morning event to support people with cancer.
She died at her nursing home in Wimbledon at the age of 83 on August 13.
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After first joining Macmillan in 1980, the first coffee morning took place in 1990 and involved people across the country gathering for a coffee and donating the cost of their drink to the charity.
It has now grown to be the charity’s single biggest fundraising event and even appears in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s biggest ever coffee morning.
She was also pivotal in launching several other high-profile Macmillan fundraising events, including an annual House of Lords vs House of Commons tug of war.
Jill also led the Macmillan nurses in the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Parade in 2002.
Jill’s sister, award-winning novelist Anne Easter Smith, said: “I often described Jill as the most organized woman in London, and anyone who ever worked with her will attest to that.
"Once her brilliant mind came up with a fundraising idea, she would put her heart and soul into making it succeed. Macmillan was a passionate cause for her during her 15-year tenure there, and I am only too sorry that, due to her particular form of dementia, she never knew how successful her coffee morning brainchild had become.”
Macmillan’s chief executive, Lynda Thomas CBE, said: “Jill was a valued member of the Macmillan family for many years and played such an important part in our history.
“Jill was the driving force behind the first Macmillan Coffee Morning, as well as many other fundraising initiatives.
"She was vital in making a positive difference to the lives of people living with cancer and we simply could not have achieved what we’ve done without her incredible support.”
Her memorial will be held in Wimbledon on September 22 and instead of flowers, donations in her name can be made to Macmillan Cancer Support, Integrated Neurological Services, The National Theatre, or The Globe Theatre.
To donate to Macmillan, visit: https://www.macmillan.org.uk/donate
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