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BCNA – A Beach Cottage Post

Posted by Orry at May 30, 2011 in Real people

Sarah from A Beach Cottage entered our bakeries throughout the Pink Bun campaign and was good enough to share her experience-

G’day!  Hope you are well.

I was recently invited by Bakers Delight to take part in their Pink Bun Fundraiser Campaign to raise awareness and funds for the Australian Breast Cancer Network…they contacted me to see if I wanted to make my very own Beach Cottage Pink Buns in support of Breast Cancer & BCNA…an offer a girl cannot really refuse…one’s own pink buns…:-)  and y’all know how good I am at baking lol!

Bakers Delight is passionate about supporting the Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA), the national voice of women affected by breast cancer, raising more than $4.5 million over 11 years of partnership. And from 28 April – 18 May more than 613 bakeries across Australia will donate 100% of the sale of their Pink Finger Buns to BCNA.

The aim is to raise $1million for BCNA to continue the work they do in informing, empowering, representing and linking together women living with breast cancer.

This network works to ensure that women diagnosed with breast cancer, and their families, receive the very best information, treatment, care and support possible, no matter who they are or where they live.

BCNA are  represented by the Pink Lady silhouette, symbolic of the focus on the women diagnosed with breast cancer and all those around her.

So you wanna see just what I’m really like at baking?  Read on…

When I arrived at Bakers Delight I was looking out for Matt Smallwood, the franchisee who would be taking me through the bakery process & helping me make some Beach Cottage Pink Buns

…I didn’t really need to wonder which one he was…Matt had ahem added a lil’ bit of colour to his hair in support of BCNA!

Matt is a very enthusiastic supporter of the Bakers Delight Campaign for Breast Cancer, in fact he is so passionate about it that his shop has won the competition for who can raise the most in NSW 4 years in a row now…it’s not surprising though, he does crazy things like dye his hair wild pink and auctions himself off for charity…yes I did say I would like to win him for the day and no not what you are thinking…to do some baking ’round here …we all know I could do with a little help!

So first off we got to some buns…and then came the fun bit…working with pink icing.

Matt first got involved with the campaign when he went along to a Bakers Delight conference and listening to the speakers and watching a video on the work of BCNA he suddenly realised that this could be him or any of us the very next day, it ‘stabbed him in the heart’.

…and he was so motivated to help that the following May for the campaign he set to it and raised $5000 for the cause compared with the year before where he had raised just $500.

And this year Matt is again striving to get some serious fundraising done….in fact he is so passionate that not only does he have wild pink hair for a while he will also be donating a whole day’s takings to the cause this year, not just the pink buns…everything…pretty impressive huh!
In 2011 it is estimated that over 14,000 women in Australia will be diagnosed with breast cancer, affecting thousands of families and communities across the country, so the passion of people like Matt and Bakers Delight is crucial.

I also met Liz Klaes a representative of BCNA, who herself has had breast cancer.  Liz and I had ourselves some BC Bun Fun and she told me a little bit about her story when as a mummy to young ones, one day, after dropping off the kids at school and running and rushing to her neurologist appointment for another condition she has the doctor questioned her breathlessness

…she poo-poohed it telling him in no uncertain terms that, like many of us women, she was running around as a busy mum doing a million and one things at once…no wonder she was breathless.

But the doctor decided he wanted to know more and fortunately he did and what followed was a mastectomy and treatment…and a long journey for Liz and her family…a journey where Liz was supported by the BCNA.

Liz now is very thankful for the support and advocacy of the BCNA and her story is inspirational…she is now a BCNA representative, carrying on the advocacy of the BCNA….oh and she likes wearing pink & icing pink buns!

don’t tell Matt, I don’t think you’re meant to lick the knife when you are a real baker or scoop up a fistful of sprinkles when no-one is looking

So that’s it from me and my morning with a crazy man with pink hair, rather a lot of sugar that went straight to my wobbly bits and my BC Pink Buns.

We had a lot of fun & the world is a better place with people like Matt & Liz.

Posted by Orry at May 30, 2011 in Real people

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