THURSDAY 2/6/2020 7:47 a.m.
DE PERE, Wis. (WFRV) – A total of $13,000 is being donated to Mayo Clinic for cancer research thanks to the efforts of Uncle Mike’s Bake Shoppe in De Pere – and a generous community.
Uncle Mike’s says they sold just under 900 kringle in support of World Cancer Day on Tuesday.
Customers not interested in the treat were able to place their own contributions in a tip jar – raising an additional $500.
The match from the Mayo Clinic means $13,000 was raised to help fight cancer.
Uncle Mike’s Bake Shoppe in De Pere selling kringle to help fight cancer
MONDAY 2/3/2020 6:19 p.m.
DE PERE, Wis. (WFRV) – In 2019, an estimated 1.7 million new cases of cancer were diagnosed in the U.S. and roughly 600,00 people died from the disease. But as Kris Schuller reports, a bakery in De Pere is doing all it can, to make a difference.
At Uncle Mike’s Bake Shoppe kringle is king, drawing people from all over, eager to eat these tasty pastries.
“Early bird gets the best kringle,” said one man at the bakery Monday morning.
But Tuesday these treats will be sold specifically to stop a killer and owner Mike Vande Walle hopes you join his fight.
“Tomorrow is World Cancer Day and for every kringle we sell, we are donating $6 to Mayo Clinic for research,” said Vande Walle.
For Vande Walle this giveback hits home. A friend’s daughter recently passed from cancer and many of his customers have shared their loss.
“It hits a lot of different people and sometimes they really struggle with it. That’s hard to see, so we want to make a difference,” he said.
Tuesday at least 11 different kinds of kringle will be on sale, including the North American best sea salt caramel pecan. But making it all happen takes planning. Since Saturday the staff has been prepping to bake 1,000 kringle for sale and taking to social media to spread the word.
“On Facebook we talked about it over the weekend, we had 27,000 people reached,” said Vande Walle.
Employee Amanda Brooks expects a very busy, yet very special day ahead.
“It makes it so special, so heartfelt, you wish you could do more for people and this is just a small way of reaching out,” Brooks said.
“I think it’s fantastic that people like this do that, I think more should do it,” said one customer.
“It can hit anyone, anytime and it can take you down quickly,” Vande Wale said. “If we can help someone with the cancer situation, we really like to do that. ”
Vande Walle plans to donate $6,000 to the Mayo Clinic from the sale. And his donation will be doubled thanks to a matching grant.