12/11/2024
In honor of Wendy’s nationally recognized “Give Something Back” Day on November 14, the Jasper Wendy's Restaurant will be showcasing Baking to Beat Cancer!
Wendy’s locations all over the country use this day each year to increase their charitable giving and community outreach, giving back in honor of founder Dave Thomas and his legacy of generosity and compassion. Lisa Lacheny is proud, "For me, to be chosen is such a huge honor, one I don’t take lightly!"
You may have noticed flyers popping up around town advertising this event. There are brochures and donation jars at the Wendy’s itself, all in recognition and support of Lisa's little home bakery.
On Thursday, Nov. 14 from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m., Lisa will be set up beneath her yellow tent outside the Jasper Wendy’s, selling freshly baked treats, including her “Thanksgiving Leftovers” trays. She's bringing those back a few weeks early, solely for this event. Various kits and mixes will also be available, and she’ll be taking holiday preorders.
"I hope you’ll come out and see me then! It’s been such a humbling experience to be approached with this opportunity, and to see those in management roles express their excitement to help Baking to Beat Cancer. I look forward to being a part of that continued legacy of generosity Dave Thomas created, she said.
Wendy’s • 1853 Hwy 53 W. • Jasper, Ga.
Thursday, Nov. 14 • 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
"I’m just so excited to be given this opportunity!" Lisa said. "It’s been such a humbling experience so far, to be recognized for what it is I do, and to be featured as part of Wendy’s 'Give Something Back' Day."
She’ll be set up at the corner, under the big sign. Just look for the yellow tent and the “Big Cookie.”
"Baking to Beat Cancer" was inspired by Lisa's mom. In 2009, Lisa Lacheny’s family received devastating news. Her mom, Susan Lacheny, was diagnosed with stage three angiosarcoma. Lisa had never heard of it and did what she could to get educated about it. She learned there was basically no hope for her mom, as this form of cancer is incredibly rare, and therefore, has no standard or promising treatment plan.
Sarcomas are cancers of the bone and soft tissue and are seen far more commonly in children. It's estimated that only one percent of adult cancer diagnoses will be a form of sarcoma; from there, only one percent of those will be of the subtype "angiosarcoma", cancer of the lining of the blood vessels.
After being told she had just 9-12 months to live, her mom would couragously go on to surpass her prognosis by years. She finally decided she was too tired to continue fighting and slipped into a coma. On Oct. 2014, five years after her original diagnosis, Susan’s family made the difficult decision to let her be removed her from life support.
To support people like her mom, Lisa came up with the idea of a baking fundraiser. “Baking to Beat Cancer” is more than just a home bakery; it is continuation of her mom's own mission. “It's her legacy, forever intertwined with mine, and a tool in which I can go out into the community and do my part in raising money and awareness of sarcomas and other related cancers,” Lisa says.
Her motto: "My part-time, tiny bakery isn't going to cure cancer. I'm not naive enough to believe anything I do will ever make an real impact . I am not going to change the world. However, I want to be able to leave that world someday, knowing I did everything I possibly could."
