Bartenders at the Bentley Hotel are showing their UGLY side this November to raise money for the Leukaemia Foundation and awareness of the disease.
More than 13,000 Australians will develop blood cancers like leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma this year – one person every 41 minutes.
UGLY stands for Understanding Generous Likeable You and sees bartenders from venues around the country wear the shirts and raise money for the foundation in what ever way they can.
Bentley Hotel’s Rachael Caldwell said the efforts were even more important to them because the disease had impacted some of their regulars.
“We’ve had a few regulars that have had leukaemia and they’re in remission now so we thought it was a good thing to do to possibly support some of our patrons as well,” she said.
“One of the regulars, I’ve known him since I was 18 when I first started working in hospitality.
“He found out he had leukaemia and luckily enough his is a success story, all the things worked for him.
“We’re raising money by playing games like guess how many jellybeans are in the jar.
“Our Melbourne Cup day is going to be focusing on UGLY as well so there will be blue decorations and part proceeds of every ticket goes to the foundation.”
The campaign is in its eighth year and the money goes towards the foundation providing its home-away-from-home accommodation service for people forced to relocate from regional areas to access treatments only available in metropolitan facilities.
Leukaemia Foundation WA general manager Andrew York said the support of pubs and clubs for UGLY had been phenomenal and helped to change the lives of people receiving lifesaving treatment for blood cancer.
“UGLY bartenders are raising money to support the Leukaemia Foundation’s accommodation service and these vital facilities relieve people of a major financial burden when they need it most,” he said.
“The compassion these bartenders have for people with blood cancer is overwhelming.
“The number of bartenders signing up to become UGLY is growing each year and their generosity is ensuring the foundation can continue to provide a free home-away-from-home to rural and remote families who are touched by a blood cancer diagnosis.”
Blood cancers currently affect more than 60,000 Australian families and treatment can range from months to several years and generally lasts longer than treatments for other cancers.
Visit uglybartender.org.au.
