Most shoppers know Vera Bradley for the brand’s colorful quilted duffle bags and accessories, but there is something more deeply woven into the fabric of the company: Breast cancer research.
Vera Bradley co-founders Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia Miller established the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer in 1998, a few years after their dear friend and sales representative Mary Sloan lost her life to the disease.
From that day forward, they vowed to fund breast cancer research through a portion of the company’s profits, as well as major annual events and fundraisers.
Over nearly 30 years, the foundation has contributed $43 million to the cause.
A major factor of this philanthropic success is the nonprofit’s annual Breast Cancer Classic, in which donors and supporters play golf or pickleball and raise funds for the Vera Bradley Foundation Center for Breast Cancer Research at the Indiana University School of Medicine.
Held every year in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the company’s hometown, the Classic brings in swaths of supporters and volunteers. This past weekend, it raised over $1 million in contributions.
“Gratitude and appreciation are the first two words that come to mind,” Stephanie Scheele, the foundation’s executive director, told The Journal Gazette.
“We’re so grateful for all of our amazing sponsors and friends at the foundation that have been so generous and willing to give again to breast cancer research.”
The organization’s initial pledge was to donate $50 million to the cause, but Scheele said their work won’t end once that milestone is reached.
“We won’t stop — even when we get to 50 — until we find a cure,” Scheele said.
In 2018, the foundation established the Vera Bradley Foundation Center for Breast Cancer Research at the IU School of Medicine, and in 2022, made an additional $12.5 million commitment to the school’s research efforts. Their investments have already begun to pay off.
“Support from the Vera Bradley Foundation has aided the IU School of Medicine in amassing talent, technology, and resources to become a national leader in targeted breast cancer therapies, specifically for triple negative breast cancer,” a press release shared.
Since 2004, more than 1,300 discoveries have been published in peer-reviewed journals by IU breast cancer researchers.
These discoveries include work in genetics, immunotherapies, vaccines, testing, targeted therapies, and new technologies that aim to improve the outcomes of breast cancer diagnoses, and, of course, eradicate the disease altogether.
“The Foundation has become a globally recognized not-for-profit organization, funding some of the most gifted and accomplished breast cancer researchers in the world,” Scheele said in a statement last year.
“We have not wavered from our mission to passionately pursue a cure, and our partnership with the IU Cancer Center has resulted in amazing discoveries and improved outcomes for those affected by this disease.”
In addition to golf and pickleball games, the annual Classic also celebrates the strides made in cancer research, sharing updates from the IU research team — all with a side of cocktails, silent auctions, and friendly competition.
“Through this hope-filled weekend guests are investing in a team of the best, the brightest, and the most passionate researchers in the world,” the foundation shared on its website.
On the heels of the success of the 2025 Classic, foundation organizers are gearing up for their next annual fundraiser: Turn the Town Pink, in which donors are encouraged to buy pink ribbons to hang around their neighborhoods and public spaces during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.
“One in 8 women get breast cancer, and that affects them throughout the year — not just in the month of October,” Scheele told The Journal Gazette.
“It takes a village to do this, and we invite everyone to be a part of that village.”
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Header image courtesy of the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer
