Breast Cancer Foundation NZ is urging New Zealanders to donate to the first ever Pink Ribbon Breakfast Day, despite its website crashing this morning.

Pink Ribbon Breakfast is Breast Cancer Foundation NZ’s largest annual fundraiser that takes place every May, where communities across the country hold fundraisers in support of Kiwis affected by breast cancer. For the first time, the Foundation encouraged Pink Ribbon Breakfast hosts to hold their events on a designated day – 25 May. But early this morning, the Pink Ribbon Breakfast website crashed after too many New Zealanders tried to support to the cause, which potentially could have lost the charity hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Ah-Leen Rayner, chief executive of Breast Cancer Foundation NZ, says she’s overwhelmed by the support of New Zealanders today: “It’s extremely humbling to see the outpouring of love shown for women affected by breast cancer – this shows Kiwis want to collectively be part of something to make a real difference.

“We’re gutted the process to donate to the Foundation wasn’t as seamless as it could be – but we’ve figured out a temporary fix and are back up online. If you tried to donate this morning and couldn’t, you can still head to our website to contribute now. We still need – and can accept – your donations!

“This incredible support tells us that breast cancer is a significant issue that is front of mind for many New Zealanders. In the past few years we’ve heard from more and more women about their struggles to get a diagnosis or timely treatment. So, as a charity that doesn’t receive any Government funding, we desperately need the generosity of New Zealanders to help us tackle these issues and be there for breast cancer patients in their time of need,” Rayner adds.

To donate to Pink Ribbon Breakfast, visit www.breastcancerfoundation.org.nz/prb

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