Panera Bread Celebrates 10th Anniversary of the Pink Ribbon Bagel®
October Fundraiser

Pink Ribbon Bagels have been helping fight breast cancer for a full decade. In 2001, Panera Bread franchisee Sue Stees developed the first Pink Ribbon Bagel. The rest is history; thanks to the special ribbon shaped bagel, over $1 million has been raised on behalf of breast cancer charities. Here on Long Island, more than a quarter million Pink Ribbon Bagels have been sold and nearly $80,000 raised for local breast cancer charities. This year, Long Island Panera Bread bakery-cafes will join in the 10th anniversary celebration and kick off their 2011 campaign on Friday, September 30th with the POWER OF PINK DAY.

“We’re really excited about the POWER OF PINK DAY,” says Greg George, Vice President of Operations for Panera Long Island. “On Friday, September 30th, all Long Island Panera Bread bakery-cafes will be more than quadrupling their donation to help jumpstart the month-long Pink Ribbon Bagel campaign.”

George is urging businesses, organizations and individuals to call now to reserve their Pink Ribbon Bagels for September 30th because every Pink Ribbon Bagel or baker’s dozen of 13 Pink Ribbon Bagels sold that day or preordered for pickup that day will provide a 100% donation to programs for fighting breast cancer on Long Island and supported by Panera’s media partner in this campaign WALK 97.5. On its POWER OF PINK DAY, Panera will contribute $1.25 for each bagel, $9.99 for each baker’s dozen directly to help local breast cancer programs.

For those who have yet to taste a Pink Ribbon Bagel, it’s a Cherry Vanilla Bagel--a brown-sugar sweetened, wholesome cranberry-cherry chip bagel—that is shaped into iconic “pink ribbons” as a symbol of hope to help support local breast cancer organizations.

Panera Bread's Pink Ribbon Bagel sales will help provide WALK 97.5 with funding for several Long Island breast cancer programs that provide support services, education and research across Long Island. The beneficiary organizations are: Huntington Breast Cancer Action Coalition, Inc., The Adelphi NY Statewide Breast Cancer Hotline & Support Program, Prevention Is The Cure and the Breast Cancer Research Program at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

Last year, in partnership with WALK 97.5, Panera Bread’s Pink Ribbon Bagel campaign raised $9,000 locally on kick-off day and more than $22,000 over the course of the month-long Pink Ribbon Bagel campaign. This year, the Long Island Panera Bread bakery-cafes are hoping to do even better—and they are counting on individuals and groups to make that happen.