The McGrath Foundation is tickled pink after KFC announced they had raised an impressive $319,374 from the ‘Pink Bucket’ initiative, an Australia-wide campaign that involved a series of fundraising activities throughout the summer of cricket.

With 61 McGrath Breast Care Nurses already working around the country, KFC and their customers’ donation will help expand the network of McGrath Breast Care Nurses in communities nationally, who provide care, information and support to Australian families experiencing breast cancer.

KFC’s ‘Pass the Pink Bucket’ fundraising campaign saw a specially-designed pink KFC bucket travel around the country, stopping off at selected KFC stores for a limited time and collecting donations throughout its nationwide journey.

Local cricketing personalities in each state including Nathan Bracken, Josh Hazelwood and Mitchell Starc helped drive donations along the way, as well as several McGrath Breast Care Nurses and Foundation Friend Jodie Blewett (Adelaide Radio Host).

Over 600 KFC stores nationwide participated in the ‘Pink Bucket’ campaign, collecting donations from customers at the counter throughout the cricket season. To coincide with the Pink Test, $1 from every KFC bucket sold in the first week of January was donated to the McGrath Foundation, raising in excess of $135,000 alone.

Commenting on the initiative, McGrath Foundation CEO, Kylea Tink, said: ‘Two and a half years ago at the McGrath Foundation, we had just four McGrath Breast Care Nurses, yet through the support of the community and companies such as KFC, we have evolved to a network of nurses in 61 communities nationally, offering support to over 7,500 families.

‘While this is a fantastic achievement we are still conscious of the thousands of people that would benefit from our support, and in this way we are so thankful that KFC can help by raising funds and spreading our message.’

KFC’s Chief Marketing Officer, Nikki Lawson, said: ‘KFC is excited to announce that we have raised more than $315,000 to help expand the essential network of McGrath Breast Care Nurses and make a real difference to the community. We have been supporting cricket in Australia for a number of years and are thankful our involvement can extend towards this iconic charity.

We would like to thank our customers for joining us in support of the McGrath Foundation. KFC prides itself on contributing to the local community and we look forward to continuing to develop this relationship with the McGrath Foundation in the future.”