SUSAN G. KOMEN FOR THE CURE® HONORED
AS MOST VALUED NON-PROFIT BRAND,
TOP RANKED FOR TRUST, CHARITY PEOPLE ARE MOST LIKELY TO DONATE TO
Despite Tremendous Honor, Progress, Work is “Far from Done,” Founder and CEO Says
Top rankings for brand value, trust, and the charity people are most likely to donate to, affirm the strength of the 28-year promise of Susan G. Komen for the Cure®: the world’s largest breast cancer organization: to save lives and end breast cancer forever.
The 2010 rankings of non-profit organizations from global market research firm Harris Interactive last week ranked Komen for the Cure as the number one most valuable non-profit brand and the charity people are most likely to donate to. Komen also ranked second among the most trusted non-profit organizations in America (behind St. Jude Research Hospital). The rankings examined 1,151 organizations.
“We are enormously humbled to be recognized in this way by the public that we serve,” said Komen founder and CEO, Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker. “This validation redoubles our resolve to our promise to end breast cancer through science, education, advocacy and relevant support programs all around the world.”
Speaking on behalf of the local affiliate, Komen Northeast Ohio Executive Director, Sophie Sureau, said, “This is a reflection of what our donors, supporters and partners already know- that Komen for the Cure is an outstanding steward of the funds they have invested in our promise. We are impacting lives all across the region and we will continue to be inspired by the trust our community has placed in our efforts.”
Harris Interactive Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, Justin Greeves, said of the top-performing non-profits: “They are working to solve many of society's most complex and relevant problems in efficient, new, and innovative ways and have achieved personal relevance in many of our lives - that is why they are at the top."
Brinker founded Komen in 1982 after promising her sister, Susan G. Komen, that she would do everything she could to end breast cancer. Susan G. Komen died of breast cancer in 1980 at the age of 36, after a three-year battle with the disease.
Since then, through its signature Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure® series and corporate business partnerships, Komen has built a grassroots organization supported by and serving millions of women and men on five continents. Komen’s nearly $1.5 billion investment in research and community program funding to date has led to five year survival rates of 98 percent for breast cancers that haven’t spread from the breast, along with breakthrough treatments that are helping people live longer with the disease.
Komen makes it a priority through its global network to ensure that women and men are educated about this disease, they have access to treatment, and that they and their families are supported through a diagnosis. Through Komen’s 125 global Affiliates, the organization has provided more than $500 million in research and $900 million since inception to education, screening and treatment programs in thousands of communities. In 2009 alone, Komen funded nearly 500,000 breast screenings and reached 4 million women with breast health education messaging, while investing $60 million into breast cancer research worldwide.
The organization also partners with governments and advocacy groups in 50 countries to raise breast health awareness and provide treatment and support, particularly in countries where medical resources and knowledge about the disease are scarce. Komen has funded almost $40 million in international research and outreach since inception.
“Our work is enormously gratifying, but it is far from over when more than 1.3 million and men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and almost 500,000 will die - just this year,” Brinker said.
As a Global Goodwill Ambassador to the U.N.’s World Health Organization and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Brinker has called on U.S. and global health leaders to make cancer control a global health priority.
This year, Komen will invest another $50-$60 million into research, with about $20 million targeted to cancer vaccines and other cancer prevention strategies. Brinker also has launched a campaign to explore more cost-effective screening for women’s cancers, and is an outspoken advocate for screening and access to treatment for cancer patients in the United States.
“Our ongoing mission is to attack breast cancer on all fronts - in science, prevention, education and advocacy for people with the disease, and to do so on a global scale,” Brinker said. “We’ve made tremendous progress to this point, but there is so much more to do.
With the ongoing support of our friends, volunteers, partners and advocates, we will continue to hold ourselves to very high standards so that we can continue to earn the public’s trust in our mission to end suffering from this disease, forever.”
Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs
Survivor Parade Nominations
Many of you may remember watching last year as Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker was honored as the First Lady of the Oaks at the Kentucky Oaks. She cheered on the 135 survivors walking the famous track at Churchill Downs at the first ever Kentucky Oaks Survivor Parade. Susan G. Komen for the Cure® is proud to announce that we will again serve as the beneficiary of the 136th running of the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs (preceding the Kentucky Derby).
This year, Churchill Downs wants YOU to decide who walks in the parade! The survivor parade is open to all survivors around the world and Churchill Downs is asking supporters everywhere to nominate and then vote for their favorite survivor. 136 survivors (symbolic for the 136th running of the event) will be chosen to participate in this year’s parade on Friday, April 30, 2010. The parade will be broadcast live on Bravo and all chosen participants will receive two (2) tickets to the Kentucky Oaks; one for themselves and one for a co-survivor that will walk with them in the parade.*
To nominate a survivor for this special honor, please visit www.KentuckyOaks.com from Friday, February 19, – March 11 2010. Voting will be open on www.KentuckyOaks.com from March 12 – March 26, 2010. Winners will be announced on April 2, 2010. For more information, visit www.KentuckyOaks.com.
*Travel and hotel accommodations will not be covered.
Komen Dining Club
Is your restaurant willing to contribute meals to a worthy cause? Susan G. Komen for the Cure Northeast Ohio Affiliate relies on its volunteers throughout the year to support the work of the organization. With only 5 full-time staff members, hundreds of volunteers are needed to plan our major events (such as the Komen Northeast Ohio Race for the Cure®), provide organizational leadership and oversight (e.g. the Board of Trustees) and to support our numerous educational and fundraising activities throughout the year. Due to the fact that the majority of our volunteers have other jobs during the day, most of the volunteer meetings are held after normal business hours. Given the time and duration of these meetings, the Komen Affiliate usually provides a light meal to these volunteers.
In exchange for a minimum of 200 meals (approximately the value of $2,000) over the next 12 months for the volunteer and board meetings, the Komen Northeast Ohio Affiliate will provide each restaurant with benefits consistent with being an “Official” sponsor of the “Komen Dining Club.” Click here to view the Komen Dining Club benefits. For more information, contact Tova at tweinberg@komenneohio.org or 216.292.2873, x101.
Komen Northeast Ohio Accepting Applications for the
2010 Class of Pink Tie Guys
Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Northeast Ohio Affiliate is now accepting applications for its 2010 class of Pink Tie Guys. The program, which was introduced last year, features eight executives from our region who serve as Ambassadors for breast health. By simply wearing a special Komen pink ribbon tie at community events, the men hope to spark conversations about the importance of early detection, the best protection against deadly breast cancer. This initiative is also aimed at engaging more men in the breast cancer movement and empowering them to be involved in women’s health issues. The eight men are selected to represent the one in eight women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetimes.
Candidates for the Pink Tie Guy program should have a personal connection to breast cancer and be willing to share the message of early detection. Komen will also consider a candidate’s geographical location as representation of the 22 county service is important. Finally, a candidate’s ability and willingness to leverage their sphere of influence to further Komen’s promise to end breast cancer forever is important. Click here to download a Pink Tie Guy application. Applications must be returned with a resume no later than March 10, 2010.
The 2009 class of Pink Tie Guys included: Ron Roseman of Office Furniture Warehouse, Cleveland City Councilman Eugene Miller, John Ertz of Northwestern Mutual Northern Ohio Group, Bob McCormick of Diebold Direct, Kurt Nygaard of Downtown 140, Jon Trainor of the Akron Art Museum, Mark Nolan of WKYC Channel 3, and Dr. Stanton Gerson director of University Hospital's Ireland Cancer Center.
The 2010 class of Pink Tie Guys will be introduced at the Komen Northeast Ohio’s annual Power of a Promise event held in May.
2009 Non-Profit Executive of the Year is Komen Northeast Ohio's Own Sophie Sureau!
Medical Mutual of Ohio and Smart Business/Cleveland Magazine honored Komen Northeast Ohio Executive Director, Sophie Sureau, as the winner of the Nonprofit Executive Director of the Year. Sophie's efforts as head of Susan G. Komen for the Cure Northeast Ohio Affiliate are a tribute to this region and we congratulate her on the organization’s commitment to fulfilling its mission.
All 2009 Pillar Award winners and their good deeds will be featured in the December issue of Smart Business. Click here to read the full article.
Congratulations, Sophie!
Thank You all for Participating in the 2009 Race for the Cure!
Get Involved By Donating to the 2009 Race for the Cure!
You can Click the Donate Button Below to Make a General Donation to the 2009 Race for the Cure
Click the Links Below to View the Results for the 2009 Race for the Cure
http://www.hermescleveland.com/roadracing/results/2009/Cleveland/OVERALL.HTM
http://www.hermescleveland.com/roadracing/results/2009/Cleveland/SURVIVOR.HTM
2009 Race for the Cure Photos Now Available
The wait is over! Team photos and Race Day Candids are now available on line at http://www.cliffordnorton.com/komen for viewing and ordering. You can order on line or by contacting our office directly at 216-378-8000.
Click here for more information on the Race.
Passionately Pink for the Cure®
Wear Pink. Raise Funds. End Breast Cancer Forever!
Are you inspired to save a life? We think you are! Go Passionately Pink for the Cure® and turn your passion into action! With your help, we can move closer to a world without breast cancer. Will you join us?
Kicking off this May and running all year long, Passionately Pink for the Cure is a fun and easy fundraising program that raises breast cancer awareness, inspires advocacy and honors those affected by the disease.
The premise is simple: Go pink to fight breast cancer!
How to go Passionately Pink:
1. Get a group of friends or co-workers together to go Passionately Pink for the Cure.
2. Choose a team captain to register your group at passionatelypink.org.
3. Select the date(s) for your Passionately Pink day(s).
4. Plan your event. Dress in crazy pink outfits. Honor a breast cancer survivor with a nice luncheon. The day’s activities are completely up to you!
5. Invite your team members, letting them know to wear pink!
6. Collect donations from each team member on your Passionately Pink day. (Make sure each personal check has your team ID written in the memo area!)
7. Send the donations to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
When your team captain registers your group, he or she will receive a free kit. This kit will include everything you need to get started — event day ideas, a promotional poster, a Passionately Pink guidebook, collectors’ pins that feature the Passionately Pink logo, basic breast health information, a donation reply form, a matching gift checklist and a reply envelope to make it easy to return donations to Komen. You can find additional materials and ideas for your day at passionatelypink.org.
About Komen
Susan G. Komen fought breast cancer with her heart, body and soul. Throughout her diagnosis, treatments, and endless days in the hospital, she spent her time thinking of ways to make life better for other women battling breast cancer instead of worrying about her own situation. That concern for others continued even as Susan neared the end of her fight. Moved by Susan’s compassion for others and committed to making a difference, Nancy G. Brinker promised her sister that she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever.
That promise is now Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the global leader of the breast cancer movement, having invested more than $1 billion since inception in 1982. As the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists, we’re working together to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure®, and generous contributions from our partners, sponsors and fellow supporters, we have become the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world.