There are three things I’m passionate about… beauty, events and NZ Breast Cancer Awareness! So this year during Pink Ribbon month, I decided to throw an event that was close to my heart.

Every year NZ Breast Cancer Foundation empowers thousands of New Zealanders to take part in Pink Ribbon breakfasts. This year there were over 3000 breakfasts held in NZ during the month of May.

I held one in partnership with MR TOMS bar & restaurant in Ponsonby. And beauty sponsors Essano and Eco Boutique.

It’s important to me to support Pink Ribbon because they are the voice of the messages that help save women’s lives. And more than that, their ground breaking research will save countless lives in the future. Right now NZBCF is putting money into researching a vaccine to prevent young women developing breast cancer. That would be such a blessing for our future generations. It would stop Breast Cancer in its tracks, and hopefully eliminate the need for mastectomies.

Evangelina, CEO NZBCF came and said a few words. She talked about the alarming rate of women getting Breast Cancer in NZ, and the even greater risk for Maori women. I spoke about my journey with BRCA and the breast cancer in my family.

My dear friend Helena McAlpine was greatly missed. She was always the star at these events with her bold messages and insane sense of humour. Hosting these events without her feels a bit like going dancing without my high heels, but it was also a good reminder of how special she was, not just to me but to so many people in the room.

Helena’s husband Christopher Barton joined us in saying a few quick words of support for NZ Breast Cancer Foundation and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

Our brave speaker for the event was Tamzyn Adding, who was only diagnosed with cancer a year ago and has bravely fought through her mastectomy and treatment. She talked about how hard it was to tell her three children about her illness, and how scared she was on her initial diagnosis. But ultimately how hard she has fought to be alive. She is one brave woman!

I thank everyone who made the effort to come to our special Pink Ribbon event… to listen, to connect and give money to this wonderful cause.

A special thanks to Essano – natural skincare products who donated a beautiful gift for every guest and prizes for the raffle. And EcoBoutique.co.nz

All together we raised over $900 for Pink Ribbon and which was the cherry on top of an awesome event, filled with important messages.

For more information on breast cancer in NZ check out… NZBCF Website

To work with MR TOMS on an event MR TOMS Website