Doris delighted to pay £100 for soup and cake

A KIND-hearted Oldham pensioner, who fought her way back to health after a brain tumour, paid a high price for a lunch of soup and a cake — £100.

But Doris Roscoe was happy to pay because the proceeds of the charity lunch are going to earthquake victims in Haiti.

Doris (70), of Royton, joined tenants and staff at a fund-raising soup kitchen at the Great Places Housing Group’s Union Street headquarters.

And she donated £100 in return for soup and cake with the housing association’s employees.

Employee Yvonne Swindells and Jan Wade charged £3 for a warming bowl of Yvonne’s home-made butternut squash soup and a delicious profiterole made by Jan.

Doris, a grandmother who is a former long-distance swimmer, is a well-known charity fund-raiser, and her son, Nigel, is a tenant of Great Places and is also active in the community. Doris spent 11 months in hospital after her tumour was diagnosed and it took her more than 15 months to learn to walk and talk again.

She said: “My illness made me look at life differently. Though I have always liked to raise money, it seems more important than ever. Seeing the news about Haiti on TV made me realise how lucky we are, and how much we have to be thankful for.

“A donation of £100 might seem like a lot but when you are giving from the heart it doesn’t feel like it costs a penny.”

Yvonne, a keyworker administrator at Great Places said: “We’ve all felt compelled to help the people of Haiti and Doris has really boosted our efforts. We’re really touched that she made such a generous donation.

“We’ve also had dress-down days and our business systems team has auctioned old computer equipment to staff to raise money, now totalling nearly £2,000.”