At least 3‚000 South Africans are preparing to bake about 200‚000 cupcakes for the “sweetest day of the year” on Saturday.
National Cupcake Day 4 Kids‚ an event to “bake” a difference in the lives of children with cancer‚ will take place at 79 malls across the country.
Cupcakes of Hope founder Sandy Cipriano hopes this year’s event will break the 2017 record of R1.2-million raised.
“We are hoping to break the record and raise R2-million on Saturday. We don’t actually ‘sell’ the cupcakes‚ we ask the public for a minimum R10 donation and then they receive a delicious cupcake made with love and the leaflet with the early signs of childhood cancer‚” she said.
The non-profit organisation raises funds to assist 70 patients every month by paying their medical bills and other day-to-day expenses.
“In South Africa‚ our families have huge financial difficulties. In most cases‚ one of the parents has to leave their job to help take care of their child full time. This places a huge financial strain on the families‚ especially single parents‚ and that is where Cupcakes of Hope comes in and assists these families with financial and emotional support‚” said Cipriano.
National health department spokesman Popo Maja said there were 1033 new cases of childhood cancer diagnosed in SA last year.