ZAIDA GLIBANOVIC and JASMINE GURNEY
By ZAIDA GLIBANOVIC AND JASMINE GURNEY*
TRARALGON Baker’s Delight will be pink for the next few weeks as they raise money for breast cancer research.
Baker’s Delight’s 2023 BCNA Pink Bun campaign is running from May 11 to 31.
Throughout the campaign, they will donate 100 per cent of their delicious Fun Bun and Fun Bun 6-Pack sales directly to BCNA.
There will also be donation tins at the bakeries, and you can always add a tax-deductible donation to your transaction.
Over the past 25 years, the Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA) has been supporting Australians affected by breast cancer, providing information, connection and advocacy.
This year, more than 20,000 Aussies will be diagnosed with breast cancer. BCNA is there for these Australians, working tirelessly to ensure they receive the very best care, treatment and support.
Bakers Delight has been a long-standing foundation partner of BCNA and over two decades and has raised more than $23 million for those affected by breast cancer.
According to the BCNA, one in seven women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and one in 555 for men. Breast cancer is estimated to account for approximately 28 per cent of all new cancers in Australian women.
It is estimated that at the end of 2017, 242,083 women were alive and had been diagnosed with breast cancer between 1982 and 2017, while about 80 per cent of new cases of breast cancer were in women aged 50 or above. There has been some improvement in recent years as the chance of surviving at least five years (five-year relative survival) has increased from 77.3 per cent in 1989-1993 to 91.8 per cent in 2014-2018.
The Express spoke to Mathew Stephenson, the Traralgon Baker’s Delight store owner, about the Baker’s Delight 2023 BCNA Pink Bun campaign.
“One in seven women will contract breast cancer in their lifetime, so it’s the largest cancer in women other than skin cancer, so it affects a larger portion of our community, and it does also affect some men as men can contract breast cancer as well, so when you come down to the Traralgon store you will see some blue ribbons and buns (in amongst the pink) in honour of those men who lose their lives to this disease too,” Mr Stephenson said.
“It’s part of a national campaign, but we try to run it personally; we’re lucky we work with some really great community groups … well, certainly, Traralgon Football-Netball Club have gone out and done some fundraising on our behalf, the Plaza [Traralgon Centre Plaza] and other businesses support us, so the community at large really do support us.”
Traralgon FNC Club has amassed a whopping $1500 to put towards Baker’s Delight’s fundraising total.
“The Latrobe Valley is a regional community, so chances are you know someone or you know someone who knows someone that has this disease… When times are tough regional communities absolutely shine, you don’t have to look too far, in the floods 18 months ago, when the chips are down you get the community together. So every year we get above and beyond from the Latrobe Valley,” Mr Stephenson said.
Having raised around $7000 at the Traralgon store alone, donations are still being collected, so make sure to pop into the store for a great cause.
“It’s a wonderful way to either honour someone or support someone’s fight, as breast cancer is very much a disease that affects the whole family. While you obviously have the sufferer … you have the person who might be a mother or a grandmother or a sister, it has the habit of affecting everyone, and [this fundraiser] is a wonderful way for people to get involved and honour everyone’s battle.”
Taelan Oliver-McGrath, the retail manager of the Traralgon Baker’s Delight store, spoke about the BCNA fundraiser launch on Thursday, May 11.
“We increased our production for the buns, I think we had over 600 on, and we had an old staff member on at a table talking to people and bringing a bit of attention to the cause in the Breast Cancer Network and selling as many buns as she could,” he said.
“We sold heaps of buns, we sold hundreds upon hundreds … it’s such a great cause and means so much to people.
“Even just working and selling the buns, people come in and share their stories, so it means a lot.”
To help show your support for BCNA, pick up some freshly baked Fun Buns from Bakers Delight Traralgon today.
*Jasmine Gurney is a Year 10 student doing work experience with the Express.
