MORE than 300,000 Irish people are expected to take time out on Thursday, September 12th to drink a cup of coffee in aid of the Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF).
"Ireland's Biggest Coffee Morning" takes place at venues around the country and is expected to raise over £600,000.
Now in its fourth year, the event is supported by individuals, companies, schools and clubs with numbers ranging from two coffee-drinkers to 200. The hospice asks organisers to invite friends and colleagues to meet for a cup of coffee and ask for a donation of at least £1.
"It is a very simple idea," Ms Niamh Sheeran of the Irish Hospice Foundation said. "But it works. Thousands of people have signed on. We welcome gatherings of any size."
The event is sponsored by RTE's 2FM and Bewleys who supply the coffee free to anyone hosting a coffee morning. The fund-raising idea came from one of the IHF directors, Ms Oona Linehan, who had seen it in operation in England.
There are 30 hospice groups in the State, and money raised in each area goes to the local hospice, Ms Sheeran said.
As well as funding individual hospices, the money will go towards research, bereavement counselling, palliative care nurses and children's liaison nurses.