WHEN a staff member at Birkdale State School was diagnosed with breast cancer last term, it was a no-brainer for the school community to “go pink”, hosting a fundraising barbecue to support breast cancer research and prevention.
Principal Brendan Smith said the event was organised in support of the staff member, and also served as a catalyst to “build a wider awareness of what we can do to get some dollars for research to hopefully once and for all put an end to (breast cancer)”.
The event was a community effort, with teachers taking over the barbecue, parents volunteering to help sell raffle tickets, and everyone “just pulling together because it’s such an important cause”, Mr Smith said.
Raising over $2000 for the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF), the school sold so many raffle tickets that Mr Smith had to use tickets reserved for a trivia night.
A variety of local sponsors were eager to jump on board and support the event. The IGA Local Grocer Birkdale and its supplier Warwick Farms provided food for the day, as well as Woolworths Birkdale.
The Birkdale Bakery, a small husband-and-wife business, donated 32 loaves of bread for the barbecue’s $2 sausage sizzle that they hand-dyed pink.
“That cannot be overstated, the amount of commitment for them to do that for us,” Mr Smith said.
One in seven women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, according to NBCF.
“The stats are just scary,” Mr Smith said.
While the survival rate for breast cancer is improving each decade, NBCF said that there was still progress to be made in reaching its goal of 100% survival.
