Readers share their views
Volunteers, donors make Planet Head Day successful
To the editor:
The members of the C.A.N.C.E.R. (Caring Area Neighbors for Cancer Education and Recovery) Board of Directors wish to thank the many volunteers and donors that made our Planet Head Day a success. A very special thank you goes to the University of Maine at Presque Isle for hosting the event and Kevin McCartney and Jeanie McGowan for their vision and hard work.
The inclusion of C.A.N.C.E.R in this joint venture with their Museum staff and the NASA New Horizons Project has been a very exciting and fun endeavor. Because of this event we raised more than $30,000 in 2012 and nearly $25,000 in 2013. We had set a goal of $40,000 for this year, but the economy and other fundraisers certainly have had an effect.
We hope that the continued strong support of the community will continue as all of our money stays right here in Aroostook County to support persons diagnosed with cancer to travel to treatments or get other types of financial support that they may need.
For more information on getting help 764-6826 or 762-6500 or on the web at www.c-a-n-c-e-r.com .
C.A.N.C.E.R.
Board of Directors
Making the most of locally-raised funds
To the editor:
For over 15 years The American Cancer Society has held a fundraiser in Aroostook County, called The Relay for Life. Many truly dedicated individuals have worked tirelessly to make this a success. In the past three years this fundraiser has garnered more than $100,000 in donations yearly and is by all accounts a soundly successful and very dynamic and fun event.
The troubling part to me as a local volunteer who works with cancer patients, is that this $100K-plus of money leaves Aroostook County, and only a very small service is provided back to local persons. This organization gives no direct monetary financial assistance to anyone in our area, and has few, if any, programs that are ongoing to meet the needs of our neighbors who have cancer. The only direct benefits to local persons are three things. They provide some help with wigs and prosthetic items for fitment, hold a conference once a year for patients and survivors and are beginning to provide rides to certain areas of The County for travel to local treatments. If you call looking for services they will direct you to their website which lists services in this area from sources outside of the ACS. This is not good value for the money sent to them from Aroostook County.
Next, their organization touts research as a primary goal. From their own 2011 annual report they list: “Research- support to academic institutions and scientists to seek new knowledge about the causes, prevention and the cure of cancer and to conduct epidemiological and behavior studies.” Which get 16 percent of the money raised directed to that project. The salaries and fundraising percentage is 28 percent. The Better Business Bureau lists them on its charity review, and notes that the CEO made $2,401,112 in compensation and they have 1,400 paid employees. As of 2008, 14 staffers made more than $320,000 each in compensation and seven of those topped $500,000 each per year.
In local terms, this means that in 2012, of the $150,000 raised $24,000 went to research and $42,000 went to salaries and fundraising. This is by no means inappropriate, and in fact that BBB gives the group a “Meets Standards” certification, mostly because they do have other charitable programs, which in total are around 56 percent of donations. That being said, none of these more extensive and expensive programs are provided here and means that nearly 84 percent of donations go salaries, fundraising and to assistance programs available in other states or areas.
It is time to think outside the box and keep this wonderful giving spirit here in The County where this money is raised. Given the same amount raised, the yearly numbers could look more like this: $50,000 directly to cancer research centers in Boston, such as Dana Farber. This would help boost research dollars directly to New England-based centers where many of our families are treated for more complicated cancer diagnosis, $70,000 to start a local support center for cancer patients and their families and $30,000 to provide other services directly to the Aroostook County cancer patients. By making this fun event a local event we could effectively double research dollars, provide real face to face programs and services and be able to help fund the extra expenses caused by being on cancer treatment.
I do not want to in any way imply that the local organizers are trying to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes, in fact I doubt they are even aware that this is where the money actually goes. These local volunteers are dedicated and wonderful people, and I sincerely hope that they will also take a good look at how their hard earned fundraising dollars are being spent and decide to direct their efforts to local organizations that provide over 98 percent of dollars raised directly back to local cancer patients. Had I not had two close friends and my father diagnosed with cancer, I would have never decided to go looking for what was available for them from cancer organizations. Once I had researched this, my conclusions were very disappointing. So my advice is, before you spend much time getting a Relay Team together and work for the next few months raising money, find out for yourself where the money really goes. I did and that is why my support will go to local organizations that benefit local people.
Craig R. Green
Presque Isle
