Pink Ribbon Breakfasts - share your breakfast with Madame Butterfly!

Author and food stylist Donna Hay and Olympic Gold Medalist Susie O?Neill are joining forces to urge Australians to raise money for breast cancer research by hosting a Pink Ribbon Breakfast in October.

Each year 11,700 Australian women and 100 men are diagnosed with breast cancer and 2,500 women lose their lives to this disease. However with continued support and funding from organisations like the National Breast Cancer Foundation, improvements in research mean the survival rate is on the rise.

The Pink Ribbon Breakfast project was established in 2003 by the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Since then, nearly 4,000 generous volunteer hosts around Australia have taken part with their colleagues and friends and have raised over $2 million. Everyone, from huge corporations to individuals and community groups, gets involved.

Donna Hay is the Lead Ambassador and is delighted to use her profile to encourage the community to be a part of this project.

"Breakfast at donna hay magazine is a daily ritual for all the team and now we can feel extra special knowing that we're helping a worthy cause like the National Breast Cancer Foundation by hosting a Pink Ribbon Breakfast. Please join us by registering today - your tummy will be happy as well as your heart." said Donna.

Hosts who register by September 13, 2006 will have the opportunity to win a Pink Ribbon breakfast with Olympic gold medalist and So Good ambassador Susie O? Neill. "I can?t think of one Australian who hasn?t been touched by cancer - either through a relative, friend or colleague," said Susie. "I would urge all Australians to help us find a cure for breast cancer by hosting a Pink Ribbon Breakfast. When Sanitarium and the National Breast Cancer Foundation invited me to be part of this program, I was delighted as there is not a bigger issue in female health in Australia. My father and siblings are doctors so I understand how big an issue breast cancer is."

The first 5000 hosts that register will receive a Host Kit to get their breakfast started.

Sanitarium has been the major sponsor of the Pink Ribbon Breakfast project since its inception, and have donated Sanitarium Light ?n? Tasty cereal and So Good soymilk as part of the 2006 Host Kit.

Also included in the Hosts Kits are Betty Crocker cookie and muffin mixes, Palmolive Essentials shower milk, Equal Cafe Sticks, Ansell Slim Fit gloves, Beerenberg jam, ?You?ll love Coles? Tea, TRESemme. shampoo and conditioner all in cardboard packaging donated by Visy Board.

Delivery of the Pink Ribbon Breakfast Host Kits is generously donated by Toll Priority. All hosts receive a Host Information Booklet with delicious breakfast recipes donated by a team of celebrity chefs, led by cook and food stylist Donna Hay - Maggie Beer (The Cook and the Chef, ABC), Janelle Bloom (Food Editor- Super Food Ideas), Danny Drinkwater (Executive Chef- HarbourKitchen&Bar), Damian Heads (Head Chef- Pony), Amanda Lennon (Senior Food Writer- Weight Watchers), Valli Little (Food Editor- Delicious), Michael Moore (Restaurateur- Summit restaurant), Maeve O?Meara (Food Safaris), Bridget Palmer (Food Editor- Madison).

"We have received overwhelming support for the Pink Ribbon Breakfast project," said Sue Murray the general manager of the National Breast Cancer Foundation. "It is a fantastic initiative that the whole community can be a part of and we are so pleased at the effort people put into their breakfasts. While individual breakfasts may only raise a modest amount of money, every dollar counts and thousands of breakfasts across the country will help reach our 2006 target of $2 million for breast cancer research."

To register as a host, log on to www.nbcf.org.au and download a form, or call the Foundation on 1800 000 118 (9am-5pm Monday to Friday).