Cupcakes for a Cause

Cupcakes to raise money for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk.

I spent Thursday night in my kitchen, barefoot, slaving over cupcakes, & covered in frosting.  I'll allow you a moment to enjoy and digest that sexy visual.  OK, I'll be honest, I was not barefoot & there was no Amish porn involved in the making of these cupcakes ;)

The cupcakes were for a bake-sale in my office on Friday.  My company participates in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk (actually, it's a festival at our local location due to the high level of participation).  I made dark chocolate cupcakes, half of them had cherry frosting with a Maraschino cherry on top and the other half were topped with raspberry frosting and a fresh raspberry. My friend/coworker Ruth made the cupcakes with the adorable mini pink breast cancer awareness ribbons on them (the white frosting, and the pink/white swirled frosting cupcakes). She also took the wonderful photo above to display our delicious & beautiful creations. Two other coworkers made the "stuffed" cupcakes and ribbon shaped cookies (not pictured here). These people all deserve some thanks and recognition for their hard work, baking skills, & donation to the cause.  The baked goods raised almost $400 on Friday :-) The company team is over the $5,000 goal with almost $7,000 (and still counting) raised for the event tomorrow. We kind of rock like that!

Breast Cancer Awareness Cupcakes. Yeah, they look like that on purpose ;)

The event is especially important to my coworkers because less than a week ago we lost one of our own.  Our payroll manager, Lorena, lost her battle with metastasized breast cancer at the age of 48.  Her funeral was on October 13th which is Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day in Maine.  It is that day in Maine because back in 2008 Lorena contacted the governor of the state to ask that Maine adopt the day.  This day is an important reminder to everyone that breast cancer awareness isn't just a collection of survivor stories, mastectomies, & support groups; it's also about the people who will not survive.  Breast cancer is still a very deadly form of cancer. I know many women who have survived breast cancer (including other coworkers, family, & friends) so I understand that there is a general misconception that as long as it is caught early a person will survive. Lorena's death is a very sad reminder that even when caught during a monthly breast exam (as it happened in her case) breast cancer can still kill you.