Classic car clubs teaming up with charities is nothing new, but the story of Miranda the Minor is something rather special
COMBINING CLUBS AND CHARITY
The Morris Minor is the same age as the Marie Curie charity that provides care and support for people living with a terminal illness (both were launched in 1948) and the Morris Minor Owners’ Club (MMOC) has pushed the boat out this year to try something new after years of teaming up with Marie Curie for charitable events. The initial plan was that the MMOC wouldn’t use the car at all and simply hand the car over for Marie Curie to use as a focal point at other, non-car events – but instead it travelled around the country changing hands between regional branches of the MMOC club throughout the process. As a result the Minor has grabbed some valuable attention for both the club and Marie Curie.
The MMOC’s Mike Dean said: ‘As great as it is to be offering this tool to the charity it’s also nice to know that the car is bolstering awareness of the club; by getting the car to events where Morris Minors usually aren’t present makes it stand out even more.’
The MMOC teamed up with Marie Curie in 2016 to complete an end-to-end charity run from Land’s End to John o’ Groats, stopping at every Marie Curie branch en route and raising a staggering £40,000 over 1200 miles. Mike said: ‘It’s lovely to be doing something big again and we really don’t care where the car goes. ‘All I wanted was to see pictures of it cropping up online at events where we would have never have thought to take it to.’
As of the time of the Classic Motor Show the club has seen the Minor – christened ‘Miranda’ – present at 32 big events, which has helped to raise £7000 for Marie Curie… a figure that is expected to rise before the end of the year.
The plan for what to do with the car once its charity trek is over remains unclear, though offers have come in and there’s talk of a raffle, something that the club has run in the past. The MMOC is a wonderfully cheerful group of people whose dedication to preserving their cars and extending that positivity and support to groups around them can’t help but fill you with joy.
M
