BOARDMAN, Ohio (WYTV) – A little dough will go a long way in battling breast cancer Wednesday.
Youngstown-area Panera Bread locations are selling “pink ribbon” bagels in October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Wednesday is Panera’s Go Pink Day, where 100 percent of the proceeds from the “pink ribbon” bagels go to the Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center. Panera employees trade in their normal uniforms for pink shirts as part of Go Pink Day.
“Everybody is affected by breast cancer in some way. It’s very important to spread awareness and encourage early detection,” said Ashlee Mauti of Covelli Enterprises, which owns local Panera Bread franchises. “So we’re lucky here in Youngstown to have the Joanie Abdu Center. The money from the bagels goes to the Center. And early prevention helps those mortality rates go down.”
Members of Zeta Tau Alpha, a Youngstown State University sorority, are handing out pink ribbons at Covelli-owned Panera locations, and matching cent-for-cent all the money raised this month.
Panera will be donating the money to the Joanie Adbu Center at Zeta Tau Alpha’s Pink Ribbon Cheer Classic, which will be held at YSU’s Beeghly Center on Oct. 25. In 2014, organizers say the Pink Ribbon Cheer Classic raised over $131,000.
