Support the local fight against breast cancer by purchasing Pink Ribbon Bagels from Panera Bread

Credit: Contributed

Credit: Contributed

Pink Ribbon Bagels have returned to Panera Bread cafés through Oct. 31 to raise money in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Since the Pink Ribbon Bagel fundraising effort launched in 2010, Covelli Enterprises — the Warren, Ohio-based company that operates Dayton-area Panera restaurants — has raised $6.5 million to support breast cancer programs in the communities it serves.

Covelli is the largest franchisee of Panera locations in the country, with 315 restaurants in eight states. Just in 2019, Covelli Enterprises donated more than $33 million to hunger relief agencies and non-profit organizations.

Throughout October, a portion of the proceeds from Pink Ribbon Bagel sales will be donated to the Pink Ribbon Girls and The Miami Valley Hospital Foundation.

Covelli officials said in a release that throughout its eight-state footprint, the funds raised by the Pink Ribbon Bagel campaign and donated to partner organizations have been used to open new comprehensive breast cancer facilities, purchase mobile mammography units with 3D technology, develop education and outreach programs, provide transportation and assistance for those undergoing treatment, and support life-saving research for advancements in cancer treatment.

Local partner Pink Ribbon Girls has used the collective $100,000 raised over the last five years in Dayton and Columbus to provide more than 12,500 meals to breast and gynecological cancer patients and their families while the patients were undergoing treatment.

Pink Ribbon Girls is an organization founded by women with breast cancer to empower those in treatment and help remove barriers to treatment by providing meals, housecleaning, rides to treatment, and peer support to individuals with breast and gynecological cancers free of charge.

At Miami Valley Hospital, proceeds fund the “Help Her Fight” program, which provides screenings, diagnostic testing and education for cancer and cancer-related conditions for uninsured and under-insured women.

Services include mammograms, well-women visits, ultrasounds and additional testing to help with further diagnosis.

“Our company has always made it a priority to give back to the communities that we serve,” said Sam Covelli, Owner/Operator of Covelli Enterprises. “With the millions of dollars raised through our Pink Ribbon Bagel campaign over the last decade, we have helped to save lives of local individuals fighting breast cancer. We are so thankful for our wonderful customers who have contributed to the cause over the years. Our pink ribbon bagels truly are more than dough.”

Panera Bread is encouraging customers to take a photo with their Pink Ribbon Bagels to share their support for the cause on social media using #morethandough. The cafes are now accepting pre-orders for bagels at www.covelli.com/gopink.

Funds also will be collected throughout October at the registers of the 13 Panera cafes in the Dayton-area market through the company’s Change Round Up Program, in which customers may round up their order total to the nearest dollar amount to support the cause.

The Pink Ribbon Bagel, shaped in the form of the iconic pink ribbon, features cherry chips, dried cherries and cranberries, vanilla, honey, and brown sugar, and is baked each morning by Panera’s bakers at each cafe.

For more information about Pink Ribbon Bagels, visit covelli.com.

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