It’s happened to him and he is determined to do all he can to help ensure it doesn’t happen to many others.
Which is why he is staging his second Pink Ribbon Morning Tea, to be held this year on Thursday, October 22 at the Coffee @ Kennaugh’s café at Kennaugh’s Garden Centre at 14/16 Cornelia Creek Rd, Echuca.
Phil has worked hard to recover from his life-changing injuries after being caught in a helicopter crash and now wants to work hard to raise funds for the National Breast Cancer Foundation to help other people.
Phil said his first all-pink program in 2025 raised almost $1000 and this year, between 10am and 1pm, he hopes to try and double that.
Which he said means a lot of people coming through the door to try his pink slice and pink liquorice all-sorts.
Already decked out in his own hot-pink top for the occasion, Phil is also planning pink tablecloths and if he still had a full head of hair, might have thought about a magenta rinse for the day.
“All the profits from the café’s morning tea will go towards the fundraiser and we also have a raffle, with tickets already available,” Phil said.
“It is a hamper of pink gardening musts – from gloves, secateurs and a pot plant, to pink flowers and a pink shovel,” he said.
“Tickets can be purchased from the counter of the nursery and the soil and sand office, or you can get some on the day.”
There will be another shot at a lucky win with a ‘guess the number of lollies in the jar’ contest, with a $50 Kennaugh’s voucher attached.
Phil said with this such an important cause he is inviting everyone in town to attend – just not all at the same time.
He said there would be so much pink involved, no-one will have trouble spotting where to go on the day.
“The morning is being run in conjunction with Embracing All Abilities Care, who I have been working with since my accident,” Phil said.
“It all started when my carer was looking for a peaceful venue for independent support workers to bring their clients to,” he said.
“I knew Kennaugh’s, which my brother Gavan runs, had this cafe space which had sat empty since COVID.”
And the rest is history.
Especially Phil, who has picked up a heap of new skills – having become a dab hand at coffee making, food handling, and baking – and those slices.