There are many foundations out there. They choose where the money you raise for them is used and how. We all have choices. I choose to give my energy in a few places. This is just one. A really good one. CureSearch is essentially COG; Children's Oncology Group. Google, oogle and smoogle..this is where it counts people.
I don't.
I did.
Once. I knew I wanted to raise money for childhood cancer research and make others aware of how many people cancer effects. Young and old Survivors, caregivers abound. But Then I started poking around and found out that Relay; American Cancer Society gives our bald children 3 pennies to split between ALL PEDIATRIC CANCERS!!! So I looked further into other "areas" for us to push efforts towards.
So, why would you Relay?
We can raise some serious dollars in the name of our children by CureSearching. Yes, CureSearch uses 97 cents of every dollar raised for research and education for our hairless babes. WOW. Overcompensating for something? Naw, it's what should happen in the case of the ever rising cases of pediatric cancer each year. You know, the #1 cause of death by disease in children. And if we don't fund the Children's Oncology Group, who will?
Don't ask the government. I mean you can, CureSearch does with many parents beside them in DC every year, but they are all tied up at the moment, spending money on deciding which program to cut next.
Ask your friends, family and your fb world. Ask your church, schools and the strangers that come to your yard sales...put up signs, create a collection jar at your home events or parties...I'm sure that jar will be full at the end of the night, just like bellies of your guests that are eating your delicious food and being entertained free of charge.
If you are into playing a good game of kickity-kickball, CureSearch has that to offer too. If you have children in school, approach your child's teacher with this. Good for school going kids of all ages. Yes, you hipster college young adult, working hard to bring it back old school, you can tell your parents "it's for a good cause" and mean it.
For the outdoor enthusiasts, there is even a full day hiking event. Two of us Red Dye Moms are going to raise money for an Ultimate Hike over the next few months, for an October event. Yes, we're taking bets on who can make it further. There is the "baby hike", which is half of the 28.3 mile Ultimate Hike. I will probably have to hang up my flops and find something to support my ankles, but this girl could use a great reason to buy a new pair of boots. I understand the day prior and the day after is a bit of a food party. I'm in, in innedy-in. And if you want to place a bet on your horse, we'll post a link in the near future for the two mamas putting on their hiking boots and packing their granola for the bald babes.
While I totally understand your reasoning, I believe there are still many valid reasons to Relay. My 15 year old son specifically requested that we form a team. It was a very powerful experience for him to celebrate being a survivor (he is still doing chemo, but is currently considered NED) and to have a place where his family and friends could gather for a night to honor his battle. ACS does many worthwhile things for children and their families. While I agree they need to increase their funding of childhood cancer research, I believe that Relay has a very important place in our society for cancer warriors, young and old alike.
ReplyDeleteI am very happy to hear that your son is NED and that he had a validating positive experience at a Relay event.
ReplyDeleteI believe what Gina was trying to get to the heart of is why one may go to a Relay event. If it is to celebrate with all types of cancer survivors and have that experience, then I deeply contented that Relay exists so that they can have that wonderful experience.
However if someone is or knows a pediatric cancer survivor or angel and that person truly feels driven to raise dollars to specifically fund pediatric cancer research, a Relay event will not achieve that goal. Gina then mentioned an event that would help people out there looking for a pediatric cancer fundraising event.
There is need for both the all inclusive celebration and the undiluted focused dollars, people should weigh which goal is most important to them when they begin to raise funds.
Yes, I totally understand the info that Gina is relaying and I get it. But again - why write something like, "So, why would you relay?".
ReplyDeleteThere is not just one right answer.
But, I'm a Mom with a child fighting an "adult" cancer so maybe I have no business on this site anyway.
We Relay to celebrate our sons survival. We have a team, but our focus isn't on raising money, though we do raise some money and I'm ok with it going to the ACS and I know that hardly any goes to Childhood Cancer. I do want all cancer's to be cured, so I'm ok with where the little bit of money we raises goes. I want my son to know he isn't the only one who has dealt with cancer, he isn't alone. The Relay isn't just for the survivors, or those who were lost, it's also for the care takers. It's good to speak with other care takers of a cancer patient even if it is different scenarios. Yes I can speak with Childhood Cancer survivor's, care takers, on Facebook, but it feels good to see survivors and care takers face to face as well, and Relay provides that. We also Relay to raise awareness in our community. It's small, and they don't really "care" about childhood cancer as it doesn't affect them. Other adult cancers affect the people in our town, so we try to educate them. We have to educate them before we can even TRY to do any other kind of fundraiser in our community. It's hard enough to find support for our Childhood cancer team for Relay. I think there are a lot of reasons people Relay, there isn't one right or wrong answer.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I want to say - Awesome Post!!! I know that some people just don't understand where the money goes. I am not saying that ACS tries to promote ideas that are not true by putting up those ads that feature poor little bald kids. Well, maybe that is what I am saying but don't quote me or bite my head off because I said it. Before someone told me the first time about how little of their funds get distributed to childhood cancer research, I didn't know either. People can choose to do, or not do, whatever they want but at least they should be informed. If I had unlimited time and energy I would participate to get donations for every organization out there that serves to eliminate cancer. My healthy looking 3 year old was once a pitiful looking, mask wearing, pale, skinny, bald kid with a chest dressing covering his double Hickman who wasn't strong enough to carry his backpack containing his PCA pump. He would have looked awesome on any Relay For Life ad. He is an honored St Baldrick's child and he is my hero. Unfortunately, I don't have an unlimited amount of time and energy. I must carefully decide how to get donations for childhood cancer so that someday other moms don't need to travel the same kind of journey that I did. They need a journey with better odds and fewer side effects. Until there is a cure, no amount of funding will be enough.
ReplyDeleteEven if a child has the same kind of cancer that adults get, studies have shown that the 2 cancers are not the same. Children's cancer often has different cytogenetics than adults cancers and is also often more aggressive. Children's cancer responds differently to chemo. So even if money goes to research for a particular type of cancer common to both adults and children often it will not yield the same results. Research is always done on adults first and if it is successful it then takes many years before trials are started with children. I am sure that drugs have been tried on adults and then tossed aside when the results were poor. Those drugs potentially might have worked on children, but we will never know because big pharma won't do a trial on kids. Kids are not profitable since there are fewer of them with cancer compared to adults. My kid had a type of cancer that only older people commonly get. I am glad that there are funds available for adult trials and there are some new drugs being developed for his type of cancer. However, those drugs might not help kids at all.
There are St Baldrick's events locally. We participated in two this year already. I like how much of a dollar goes to childhood cancer research when I give it to St Baldrick's. I will not lie, I have thought about Relay. There are no CureSearch walks anywhere near where I live. There is not one in the whole state of Montana. I like the idea of connecting with others who have shared a common experience for a good cause. I have never attended a Relay event before. I thought about taking my little survivor for a lap and letting people see that kids get cancer too. I also thought about writing the ACS and asking them to increase the percentage of funds they give to childhood cancer. After all, the incidence of adult cancer is declining while the incidence of childhood cancer is increasing. It only makes sense that their percentages of funding should reflect that change.
Tammy Buchanan
mom to James
www.caringbridge.org/visit/jamesbuchanan