TBBCF Norma's Letter

After much thought and a little bit of agony, I have decided not to walk in the Breast Cancer 3-Day next year. Yes, I did sign up for San Diego and Phillie, but I've since had a change of heart. Let me explain.

In October I received a call from one of the Boston Coaches informing me of a reunion that was being held in Boston. Almost immediately I began thinking, "Why are they spending money on a reunion when it could be going to research?" About the same time I received the Komen Annual report, which stated a 75/25 split, namely 75 cents of every dollar raised goes to programs, and 25 cents goes to overhead. This is considered "good" for a non-profit.

In reading the report I searched for 3-Day data but couldn't find it, so I decided to contact the coaches for financials. Data were not yet able for 2005, but they informed me that in 2004 the split for the 3-Day was 60/40. My heart sank. It may not have broken, but that information did leave a deep crack. In two years our team has raised $200,000, yet according to this split, $80,000 went to overhead. I thought of everyone's hard work at fund raising. And I thought of my personal needs. People don't get cured at Stage 4; they only live longer through better treatment options. As such I came to the conclusion I could no longer support the 3-Day and shared my feelings with the 3-Day organization.

Of course I was not about to abandon raising money for breast cancer research. So I talked with Sandy about establishing our own non-profit. A non-profit where 100%, yes 100%, of every penny raised goes DIRECTLY to breast cancer research. You may be thinking, but what could our little non-profit do; we can't compete with the likes of the Komen Foundation. Well, we aren't proposing to that. The Komen Foundation is wonderful and does great work. But even if we raise only $30,000 in our first year, that is $30,000 that would go directly to funding better treatment options and hopefully a cure. In researching foundations, I also discovered that the average grant issued from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (great organization by the way) is $200,000. We could have done that!!! Can you imagine the feeling of presenting a researcher with a check for $200,000? Think about it, because that is what will happen.

Sandy and I wanted to complete our business plan and then pitch the idea to everyone, but we decided to bring you in now for two reasons. First, some of you are already making plans for the 3-Day. Please know if you participate in this event, you will have our support. Whichever way we choose to contribute to the cause doesn't matter, as long as we all do it. Second, and more importantly, we wanted to include you in this planning stage. We started this journey together and as such we wanted to include you in our new thinking as soon as possible. But the bottom line is, you are our teammates and always will be no matter what route you choose. Speaking of routes… yes, there will be one, across the State of Connecticut!!! We are proposing a 100-mile walk as our major fund raising/awareness event, which can be completed as an individual or as part of a relay team.

I realize this will come as a surprise for folks, and you all probably have justifiable doubts. But Sandy and I are not only convinced we can pull this off, but are also really, really excited. Next week we will meet with an accountant. We also have a lawyer who will help us. In January we'd like to have a get together to share our ideas with you, get your ideas, and see if we can convince you to join us. If you have ideas now, there's nothing to prevent you from jumping in at this point. We meet every Friday afternoon. But we can be flexible with this day and time to accommodate other commitments you may have.

As I said before, we share a connection that will never be broken whether you participate in the non-profit, walk in a 3-Day, or write a check. Just keep the hope alive.

For now, I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes that I believe captures the spirit of this non-profit.

"Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world. For, indeed, that's all who ever have." Margaret Meade

With love and admiration,

Norma