The butchers at Ken’s Kepnock Butchery are proving pink isn’t just a colour for girls as they dress to raise awareness for breast cancer in The Pink Butcher campaign.
Ken and Sue Barritt and staff are decked out in pink for October to raise money and promote awareness about breast cancer.
Ken has been a Bundaberg butcher for 37 years and said many of his customers have fought, and some are still fighting, breast cancer and that’s one reason why he believes it’s important support the Butchers in Pink cause.
“We are dressed in pink exclusively for the whole month and we hope to stand out like a sore thumb!” Ken said.
“We want people to start the conversation and check their breasts.
“I have a wife and two daughters, hopefully they will never be affected by it, but we have got to help out those who are.
“It’s not just the ladies, we’ve had two male customers over the time who have had breast cancer as well, so everyone needs to be mindful.”
Ken said he wasn’t the only butcher in the Bundaberg Region taking part in The Pink Butcher campaign, and his brother Des Barritt from Barritt’s Butchery had always helped raise breast cancer awareness.
“We come from a large family with 13 kids and it’s important to us to take part in this,” Ken said.
“Des has always done it and we got involved three years ago and hope this year to raise more money than ever before.
“We hope to reach the $2000 mark by selling dog bones, raffles, and for every bottle-tree rump we sell $20 from the sale will go straight to the cause.”
A chance to win pink themed prizes
Ken said his wife Sue had been busy compiling prizes for a large raffle full of pink-themed goodies including a meat voucher and donations from other Bundaberg businesses.
“We will draw a ticket each week, with the first three winners taking home a bottle of pink gin from Kalki Moon,” he said.
“Then the mayor prize draw in the last week will have between $400 to $500 worth of prizes including Jake’s Candy chocolates and the meat voucher.
“Or if people just want to donate, they can pop their change in the tins on the counter to show their support in fighting breast cancer.”
How did the Pink Butcher campaign start?
In the past year, the number of Australians diagnosed with breast cancer each day has increased to 53.
The Pink Butcher campaign was founded after South Australian butcher Rodney Sims’s world turned upside down when his wife Pat was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005.
As Pat celebrated 10 years as a breast cancer survivor in 2015, Rodney saw an opportunity for butcheries to give back to their local communities.
AMIC saw The Pink Butcher success in South Australia as an opportunity for independent local butchers to show their support for Australians affected by breast cancer – the very people who are a key lifeline to the success of retail butchers in Australia.
AMIC has now promoted the event to butcheries across Australia, making The Pink Butcher a nationwide event in 2017.
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