Way to go ladies!
They began as 10 small town ladies (all from around the Foam Lake area) with a dream. Today they're making a very real difference in the lives of countless Canadian women and their families through their fund raising efforts.
In 2004 The Breast Friends group was born. They formed as a way to help themselves deal with grief after losing sisters, friends and a beloved mom to breast cancer. Together the 10 ladies gathered recipes tried-and-true and put together a cookbook which has since become a national best seller. Proceeds are in turn donated for cancer research. Their second book was also written in the midst of grief, this time a husband was lost to melanoma, as well as additional friends were to other cancers.
"For a while we became frustrated," says one of the group's founders. "Why are we still raising awareness?" they questioned. "Women not only know about this hideous disease but they are scared stiff of it. The disease continues; there doesn't appear to be advancements. Are we spending too much money on awareness?"
But they didn't quit. In spite of the sad realities and losses, advancements are being made and together the women and their cookbooks have helped to generate over $1 million in donations for the fight against cancer. Together, four cookbooks later, they are gaining momentum and now even garnering international attention. While as of press time, the end result was unknown, earlier this week the gals appeared in Toronto on the well know CBC television show Dragon's Den, in a bid to win dollar support from some of Canada's top business executives. On a whim Patty Hack of Breast Friends thought she would send in an audition for the show and just three weeks ago discovered they had made it. The group has also entered a cookbook competition in Europe and has recently been featured in an issue of Gourmand Magazine, a cookbook magazine published in Spain and widely distributed throughout Europe.
While their goal isn't personal attention or fame, it is to expand awareness about cancer and to one day hopefully stop it in its tracks. "We hit the ground running and we have not taken a breath," says Hack.
It's because of the tireless dedication and devotion shown by people like this - and the so very many we find living in our own communities - that changes are happening and lives are being saved. Our hats go off to all of you and we thank you! Continued success on your missions.
