A total of €17,500 has been raised for the Irish Cancer Society through Dairygold’s ‘Wrap it Pink’ campaign.

Supported by farmers right across Munster, the campaign saw farmers wrap their silage bales in pink plastic for the third year running.

Almost €50,000 has been raised for the Irish Cancer Society by Dairygold and its farmer customers since the Wrap It Pink initiative was launched in 2015.

The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative has the twofold objective of raising awareness of breast cancer across rural Ireland and also raising much-needed funds for a very worthy charity, according to Dairygold.

wrap it pink

L-R: John O’Carroll, head of retail, Dairygold; Gillian Foley, marketing manager, Dairygold; James Lynch, chairman, Dairygold; farmers Mary and John Hally; and Mark Mellett, head of fundraising, Irish Cancer Society. Image source: Miki Barlok

Dairygold’s farmer customers took up the cause and pink bales in fields are a familiar sight in Ireland’s landscape, as well as a reminder of the importance of breast check screening among women, the co-op added.

There are now a number of companies offering pink wrap to farmers to promote awareness of breast cancer and raise funds for the vital cancer research and support services. Co-ops contribute a donation for each pink bale that is purchased.

wrap it pink

L-R: James Lynch, chairman, Dairygold, and Mark Mellett, head of fundraising, Irish Cancer Society. Image source: Miki Barlok

Commenting on the campaign, John O’ Carroll, head of retail at Dairygold said: “We’re delighted that Wrap It Pink had another successful year, with almost €50,000 in total contributed to the Irish Cancer Society since we launched the initiative.

“As ‘Pink Partners’ of the Irish Cancer Society, we’re proud to play our part in raising awareness of breast cancer among our farmer members and the wider rural community and we’d like to thank our farmer customers who came on board to support the campaign again this year.”

Mark Mellett, head of fundraising at the Irish Cancer Society also spoke, saying: Over 2,900 people are diagnosed with breast cancer in Ireland every year, that’s eight people every day.

Wrap It Pink plays a vital role in raising awareness of breast cancer in rural Ireland and also funding vital cancer research and services to support those affected by the disease.

“This fantastic donation will help ensure a person who has just been diagnosed has the correct information, care and support to help them through such a frightening and worrying time, and will also enable our researchers to continue to find better ways to diagnose and treat this disease.

“Thank you to Dairygold and members of the farming community for supporting this initiative,” Mellett concluded.