Michael and Pippa Logan have raised almost £40,000 for Mary’s Meals, after 20 years of garden parties and supporting the charity. 

Two decades fundraising

An inspirational Seaford couple have celebrated two decades of fundraising at their 20th and final annual garden party, with the money raised helping to feed hungry children.

Michael, 86, and Pippa, 79, have raised a phenomenal £39,300 for school feeding charity Mary’s Meals since they began fundraising 20 years ago. Their final garden party took place on Sunday 14 June, marking the end of an era for the incredible annual event, which they described as “an absolute pleasure”.

School meals for millions of children

Mary’s Meals, founded in a shed in the Scottish Highlands in 2002, provides school meals to more than three million children in some of the world’s poorest communities in 16 countries, including Ethiopia, Lebanon and South Sudan. The promise of a daily meal encourages children into the classroom where they gain an education and hope for a brighter future.

After reading about the charity in a Rotary magazine, the couple sprang into action and began a fundraising mission. Michael says: “The principle is: if you go to school and get a meal – that encourages the child to go to school and get a good education. That’s so important in this world today and even more important for the future.”

For over 20 years, the couple have raised funds through various activities, such as selling jam at the local garden centre and plants from their own back garden. The garden parties have become a yearly staple in the community, mobilising family and friends to support their efforts and raise money for Mary’s Meals as well as local causes, this year’s beneficiary being Friends of Eastbourne Hospital. Highlights of this year’s party included live music, a tombola, a raffle and sales of their homemade jams and marmalades, with Pippa describing it as “a really good, happy day”.

Popular community event

Pippa discusses how the garden parties began and says: “We just decided we had a big garden and we thought it was an opportunity to raise money for charity.” Since then, the day has become a popular local event, with 200-300 people attending each year. The couple credit the event’s success to the support of their family and community, with Pippa explaining: “I’ve had a couple of helpers who have been coming for 20 years from day one. They come every year and never let me down.” One friend even makes the yearly trip from Ireland to Seaford and “hasn’t missed one,” according to Pippa.

Michael and Pippa’s commitment to fundraising has spanned generations, with their children and grandchildren joining their mission to raise funds. The couple’s endless passion to help others has also led them to sponsor a school in Liberia for the past nine years through Mary’s Meals’ Feed A School programme.

Motivation for a better future

Pippa, a retired district nurse, says: “The kids themselves say how much it has helped them. Some of them are now in higher education and have jobs, and it’s thanks to Mary’s Meals.”

By fundraising for the charity, Michael and Pippa have helped children like 15-year-old Valicia from Madagascar. She is the eldest of four children in a rural farming family who often struggle to make ends meet. Mary’s Meals provides her with a daily meal which not only fills her empty stomach but also motivates her to go to school and work towards a better future.

Valicia says that without food, “it is difficult to concentrate in class, and some children even fall asleep because they are hungry”. After receiving Mary’s Meals at school, she now has energy to learn and says she feels “happy and motivated.”

‘An incredible thing’

The founder of Mary’s Meals, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, has himself been blown away by Michael and Pippa’s heroic fundraising efforts. In a video thanking the couple, he commented: “What you have done in feeding so many children for so long is an incredible thing.”

Find out more

It costs just £19.15 to feed a child for an entire school year. To find out more about Mary’s Meals and how to get involved in fundraising, please visit www.marysmeals.org.uk