The three sisters formed the Yvonne Baker Foundation in 2006, in honour of their mum, and held a breakfast the following year to raise money for the Cancer Council WA.
The fundraising breakfast went on to became an annual event, which proved to be so popular, the sisters are now considered one of the Cancer Council WA’s most important private donors, having raised $125,000 to date.
‘Our mum was everything to us and we wanted to do something to remember her,’ Mrs Bransby said.
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READ NOW‘At our first breakfast (held at Glen Iris Country Club in Jandakot) 80 people turned up, who were friends and family, but each year it has just got bigger.
‘Now people are coming along who didn’t know her but still want to give something back by donating to the WA Cancer Council.’
Each year, the breakfasts have sold out, with up to 350 people attending in recent years.
They include a guest speaker and a range of additional fundraising activities, such as the sisters shaving their heads and auctioning off their husbands.
Guests also go home with a goodie bag full of donated prizes from event sponsors.
Mrs Bransby said her mum only met five of her nine grandchildren before she passed away at the age of 65, but all the grandchildren are actively involved in keeping their grandmother’s memory alive, by speaking at the breakfast each year, handing out gifts and collecting money for raffles.
‘It’s important that they know what kind of person she was,’ she said.
‘She was an amazing mother who raised us three girls on her own and put us all through school.
‘She always had time for everyone and was the first one there helping, whether it was sewing or putting up fences.
‘We always say mum was an extraordinary woman who lived a wonderfully ordinary life.’
DetailsWHAT: The eight annual Yvonne Baker Memorial BreakfastWHEN: Sunday, March 30, 8.30am to 11.30amWHERE: Esplanade Hotel, 46-54 Marine Terrace, FremantleTICKETS: $50 includes breakfast and presentation by guest speaker PaulaSmith.CONTACT: Jacqui Bransby 9259 4346, 0411 806 414 or jacqui_73@yahoo.com.