ROYAL NEW ZEALAND SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS

For release: 11th August 2010

Ba(R)King Up A Storm

The SPCA Cupcake Day is back - and it's going to be outrageous!

Mark your calendars! The 30th of August this year sees the second annual SPCA Cupcake Day, with individuals, schools, teams and businesses from Invercargill to Kaitaia baking up a storm and selling their cupcakes to the public. Once every last crumb has been devoured and mixing bowls thoroughly licked clean, all proceeds from the cupcake sales and donations will go directly to their local SPCA.

And for those in Auckland there will be a special treat with 'Pascalle'(Siobhan Marshall) and 'Kasey' (Nicole Whippy) from Outrageous Fortune lending their support to the cause by selling Outrageous Fortune-themed cupcakes as well as cupcakes baked by the Auckland University of Technology on the streets throughout Auckland.

"Cupcake Day is great fun and a community-spirited day as well as a fantastic reason to ditch the diet and indulge in cupcakes for one day a year. It is supporting a great cause and allows SPCA's throughout NZ to get some much-needed financial help to continue their important work in the communities they serve" says the SPCA's Fundraising and Marketing Manager, Cressida Evans.

There are competitions for both 12 and under and over 13 for the most creative cupcake, the most extreme place to eat a cupcake, the most cupcakes baked and the most money raised. With some amazing prizes donated by Mt Vintage, Hasbro, Ecostore and Kiwi Cakes up for grabs, the competition will be fierce!

As New Zealand's principal animal welfare charity, the SPCA relies heavily on public donations to raise a nationwide operating budget of more than $14 million a year.

"While the spirit of Cupcake Day is fun and lighthearted, the reason for running it is highly serious. Acts of animal cruelty, neglect and abuse continue unabated, and the SPCA desperately needs funds to house, feed and medicate those animals, as well as to prosecute those responsible for these acts," says Cressida Evans.

To register for Cupcake Day and receive a Cupcake Cook Kit, or to purchase merchandise, go to www.spcacupcakeday.co.nz . The closing date for registrations is 20th August, 2010.

If people want to involve their animals, there is a special 'pupcakes'recipe available on the website.

All money raised by Cupcake Day will be used by the local SPCA's on behalf of New Zealand's animals.

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