Bakers Delight's pink finger buns raise money for charity and community organisations
By Lisa Saremel
From its humble beginnings in a Hawthorn bakery in suburban Melbourne in 1980 to the establishment of 700-odd stores today, the Bakers Delight franchise has become a well-known feature of many local shopping centres across Australia. What many of us might not realise is this successful franchise, established by CEOs Roger and Lesley Gillespie, makes an important community contribution throughout Australia, New Zealand, and now Canada. For instance, Bakers Delight donates $53 million worth of bread to various charities each year, and each franchisee is given opportunities to initiate community relationships by assisting with school fundraising and donating to local community groups and organisations.
"Franchisees play an active role in supporting charities and community-based organisations in their area," said Kendra Teasdale, PR and communications manager. "The range is quite broad – anything from supporting local primary schools, rotary clubs, local hospitals and sporting clubs to hosting fundraising events, bakery visits for community members, and a whole lot more."
Bakers Delight has also launched the Fresh Franchisees program which gives people the opportunity to start up a Bakers Delight franchise that they might never start up themselves due to limited capital and lack of business acumen. Since 2000, the company has forged a successful partnership with the Breast Cancer Network Australia (BNCA) which is a support agency for women recently diagnosed with the illness. "In the last six years, we've donated $1.4 million," Kendra said. In 2006 alone, the franchise raised over $400 million for BCNA. This year's donations will be used by BCNA to fund an information kit for women affected by breast cancer.
Kendra explained: "We exceeded previous efforts by close to $200,000. The commitment by all of our bakeries was outstanding – collection tins, fundraising events, and proceeds from every pink finger bun sold." The Bakers Delight Sack Race, launched by Hayley Lewis, is another recent community initiative and is promoted in Australian schools to encourage healthy habits. The company donated funds to schools for each participating child, while developing and providing teacher resources to reinforce the health message.
Developing networks with communities has taken time. With leftover bread inevitable, CEOs Roger and Lesley Gillespie went in search of ways whereby bread could be used without wastage. (It used to be given to pig farmers.) "Eventually relationships with local charities meant that bakeries were able to provide bread to people who really valued it," said Kendra.
In 2004, an independent corporate citizenship study recognised Bakers Delight's efforts in this area, voting the company as the leading corporate citizen among a large number of reputable organisations. "Giving back to the community is a commitment made by all of our bakery operators and staff," said Kendra. "We are not just focused on product and service alone – we are all about creating 'real delight' as a baker."
More information
Visit the Bakers Delight's Bread for Health website.
The Centre
for Volunteering [ABN 28 002 416 024]
Level 2, 228 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000
T: 02 9261 3600 | F: 02 9261 4033 | E: info@volunteering.com.au
www.volunteering.com.au