This month, Autore has launched a Bracelet in the Primavera collection which was designed in conjunction with The Cooper Rice-Brading Foundation, to mark the anniversary of the founder of the charity, Cooper.
Diagnosed at the ripe age of 17, Cooper tragically lost his courageous battle with sarcoma, in August 2017, two months prior to sitting his final HSC exams. His legacy and his vision lives on through the foundation and in the work he began for young sarcoma patients globally. Cooper worked tirelessly to instigate change, to heighten awareness, and to stimulate much needed funding, whilst facing extreme personal adversity himself.
Cooper’s biggest passion was sport, in particular Cricket, which inspired the AUTORE design team to include a Cricket Ball motif on the bracelet. Autore will donate 10% of all back to CRBF insight of raising money to help fund research and support of Sarcoma.
The Cooper Rice-Brading Foundation (CRBF) was established in March 2016. Shortly after turning 17, Cooper’s life changed irreversibly with an osteosarcoma (bone cancer) diagnosis. Early in his treatment, Cooper identified his cancer was very different to other cancers, as treatment options were distressingly scarce with no quantifiable change to the appalling mortality rates.
Today, the instance of sarcoma diagnoses is rising. In the past decade, a 40% increase has been identified (Professor David Thomas, Garvan Institute) and this cancer now sits amongst the worst survival rates of any childhood/young adult cancers.
Cooper found the lack of funding alarming with less than 1% of the total cancer budget allocated to sarcoma. Through his numerous philanthropic speaking engagements, Cooper raised over $650,000 both directly and indirectly for research into sarcoma through the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse Comprehensive Sarcoma Centre, the Australian Cancer Research Foundation and CRBF.
The CRBF vision is to heighten the awareness of this cancer, and to stimulate the critical funding required, whilst improving support for patients and their families undergoing treatment for sarcoma.
These stories drive each of us daily to make a difference in the lives of those patients who walk this road behind Cooper, and Autore is proud to be working with such an honourable foundation.