One of the primary benefits of joining a franchise network is community, and for some Bakers Delight franchisees, providing a helping hand is more than just good business. From its humble beginnings as a family-owned bakery, to the global franchise chain that it is today, Bakers Delight community support programs have remained a key business feature.

Whether it be donating bread for the local sausage sizzle, sponsoring the local sports team or contributing to major charities such as Breast Cancer Network Australia or Foodbank, Bakers Delight has carved out a history of grassroots support.

As Burleigh Heads franchisee, Joanne will tell you, the Bakers Delight community support programs start with the franchisees.

The 12-year Bakers Delight veteran got involved with women’s support initiative Share the Dignity last year. The charity provides women and teenage girls who find themselves in homeless shelters with basic sanitary needs.

As part of her support, Joanne joined the group’s ‘It’s in the Bag’ project, challenging herself to source a thousand handbags full of new toiletries for women in need.

Her local Gold Coast community got behind the project, with Joanne revealing the response was overwhelming. Every day there was more and more bottles of shampoo sanitary pads and other items dropped off by customers who simply wanted to contribute.

“Bakers Delight does community really well I think…..it’s one of the things that really makes us stand out from others,” she said.

It’s precisely that sentiment that Maori Wardens Jayson and Sharon echo about their local Botany Downs Bakers Delight store.

As a Maori Warden, the pair are part of a long-line of community mentors and support people in New Zealand. Having the backing of the bakery franchise has allowed Jayson and Sharon to provide food and assistance for families in need.

Twice a week they visit the Botany Downs store in Auckland to collect unsold bread, which is then distributed to the community via the many ‘food cupboards’ set up around the neighbourhood.

“We are so blessed to have Bakers Delight on board and we are grateful to be able to provide our community with bread that is freshly made each day and going straight from the oven to Chi tables of a lot of families out there in New Zealand,” said Sharon.

Having a strong connection to the local community is something that all Bakers Delight franchisees are encouraged to explore.

Closer to home, Mitcham franchisee Kym Temby puts his 24 year run of success down to the support he gives and receives from the local South Australian neighbourhood.

“If you can name a group or an organisation in our local community then at some point over the last 20 years, we’ve probably helped them out,” he said.

Focusing on providing valuable nutritional information to youth, Kym has been able to implement bread-baking sessions for local schools.

“We’ve been doing this for so long now that some of the kids that came through in the early years are now some of our sales staff. It’s very important to keep in mind that our staff are all from the local community too,” Kym said.

If you would like to get involved in one of the latest Bakers Delight community support programs, the Pink Bun campaign, in support of Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA), visit a bakery between May 2 and May 29.

All donations will go towards BCNA’s 24/7 online support network, so people with breast cancer always have someone to talk to, day or night.

Over the month of May, Bakers Delight will be looking to raise $1.5m for the charity, helping those in need receive valuable support.