For the ninth consecutive year South Australia’s CJ’s Bakery hosted a charity auction to help raise funds for the not-for-profit organization Endometriosis Australia.

Held in late February, the fundraiser saw the bakery auction off their first tray of hot cross buns for the Easter season, alongside trays of their vanilla slice and the very last fruit mince pies of the season.

To help get bidders in the spirit CJ Bakery co-owner Andrew Sutton baked up some bread bidding batons in the shape of numbers.

It’s an element that he said is always popular, even if the batons are almost always eaten before the auction starts.

First under the hammer was the tray of 45 hot cross buns, which sold for $700. This was followed by a tray of 24 vanilla slice hot cross buns, which was snapped up for $650, and the final two packets of CJ’s Bakery fruit mince pies went for $450.

Kerrie Sutton, who co-owns CJ’s Bakery with Andrew, said so far they had raised more than $2000 – and more was still to come.

“This is always a wonderful way for us to start our Easter buns season, and to really make a difference beyond us,” she said.

“David Liston from local OC Real Estate donated his time and skill to be our auctioneer, and we had the Easter Bunny come to visit courtesy of our local costume hire shop, Fancy That.

“Others chose to donate money on the day. Many hot cross buns were purchased [with $1 from every packet bought also being donated] and we have been collecting donations in-store throughout March for Endometriosis Awareness month.

The Suttons held their first charity auction at CJ’s Bakery was held in 2017 after the bakery won the Australia’s Best Hot Cross Bun title. It was a move, they said, that allowed them to simultaneously promote the win while also doing something beyond themselves.

That first year they donated the funds to HeartKids, but shortly afterwards their youngest daughter was diagnosed with endometriosis – an incurable condition that affects one in seven women in Australia.

Although research into the condition is growing, it is still considered low when compared to the disease’s burden. This is where vital donations come in.

“I think we got 500 bucks for our first tray the first time we did it, and then the next year we raised 800 bucks … I think there was one year where we actually got $5,000 for the very first tray as a solo bid from a solo person,” Andrew said.

“The research into endometriosis is such a big question and has been for many years. There still isn’t a cure, and so there’s always going to be more work to be done.”