As Jeans for Genes Day draws closer, Australian bakers are being encouraged to bake it blue while raising vital funds for medical research.

Jeans for Genes Day is one of Australia’s longest running charity days, and in 2026 it will be held on August 6. All proceeds raised will go to the Children’s Medical Research Institute and invest in research for children’s genetic conditions.

When the fundraising initiative was first started in 1994, genetic conditions were considered rare, however, today one in 20 Australian children will be diagnosed with a birth defect or genetic condition and there are more than 7000 conditions worldwide. Unfortunately, treatments aren’t keeping up with diagnosis rates.

Spencer was just four years old when he was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy; a genetic condition that causes progressive muscle deterioration. Most children lose the ability to walk by the age 12 and life expectancy is shortened due to heart and respiratory complications.

His mother, Harley, said the most devastating thing to learn was the specifics of his timeline.

“The doctors were highlighting – by this age he’ll be in a wheelchair, by this age he will need assistance in breathing and basically it will be a shortened life span, which was one of the hardest things to deal with,” she said.

His father, Tristram, said finding out there was no cure was the hardest part.

“The initial advice that we got from the hospital was that there is a lot of research for Duchenne but it’s probably not going to be something that he will see in his lifetime,” he said.

“I think that progression has only really happened though because of organisations like Children’s Medical Research Institute. Without those organisations, I don’t know how far back we would be in the research.’’

Bakeries can register for the initiative via the Jeans for Genes website.