FACTORYVILLE, Pa. — The Keystone College Cupcake Challenge is back for its 11th year. It's a Fat Tuesday tradition that is also a fundraiser for pancreatic cancer awareness.
"Knowing pancreatic cancer is the second worst form of cancer and that early detection is so important. Come, have a good time, and raise that awareness, it makes a big difference," said Dan LaMagna, Northeast PA Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Affiliate Chair.
That is why Kristin Meola started baking for the Cupcake Challenge three years ago. She lost her mother to pancreatic cancer in March of 2020.
"I knew I had to make my mother proud and bake for her, since that's what we always did together," Meola said.
Meola isn't baking this year, because she took on the challenge of organizing the entire event. There are about 15 bakers signed up, though, and it isn't too late if you want to join the competition. There are three categories: home bakers, junior bakers, and professional bakers. Genesis Vega owns 3 Tiers Bakery in Carbondale.
"I lost a lot of my family members to different types of cancer. Right now, I have my big sister, she's been fighting cancer for five, almost six years. I always like to support these kinds of fundraisers with my work," Vega said.
The Cupcake Challenge is the kickoff for PanCan's bigger fundraising event, the purple stride walk and run on April 27 at the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail.
"You buy a certain model car, you don't really see it much. But once you have it, or are familiar with it, you see it everywhere on the road. So when I learned about pancreatic cancer, I was amazed to see how many people were impacted by this disease. Being connected to this cause is just trying to make a difference to help others what I went though with my dad," LaMagna said.
The Cupcake Challenge is this Tuesday at Keystone College. Information about tickets, pricing or how you can sign up to bake can all be found by clicking here.