2008 Woodie Awards
Fundraiser oversteps with political agenda
Joseph McCleary
Issue date: 9/20/07 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
The American Cancer Society has failed us. No longer are they purely funding cancer research. They are also "educating the public" about the necessity of universal healthcare.
As explained in a recent e-mail to past participants of Relay for Life, the American Cancer Society wrote, "Scientific evidence suggests that [the decline in cancer deaths] won't continue unless all Americans gain access to quality health care."
"Now we plan to educate Americans about the need for greater access to quality health care through an aggressive public awareness campaign featuring real people telling their own very real stories."
Let me simplify this in terms we can all understand: The American Cancer Society is using my money that I donated to Relay for Life to air TV commercials in support of universal healthcare.
Quite simply, I'm outraged.
Ms. McCaughey, a former lieutenant governor of New York, criticized the ACS in the Wall Street Journal, "The Society will devote this year's entire advertising budget to a campaign for universal health coverage."
That is a total of $15 million.
I have already seen evidence of this education campaign. When watching TV, I saw one of the new American Cancer Society commercials.
The screen flashed to different children who explained the importance of healthcare and the need for all Americans to gain access to healthcare.
I couldn't believe it. So this is what my Relay for Life donations were funding. Partisan propaganda.
The final slap in the face was the ACS Web site's comparison of the campaign to their
1960s campaign to educate the public about the dangers of tobacco use.
Their comparison is flawed. Virtually every scientist acknowledges the link between cancer and smoking; there is no such proven link between cures for cancer and universal healthcare.
Moreover, there is still partisan debate about the pros and cons of universal healthcare.
This issue should be settled by politicians and citizens, not by nonprofit organizations whose donors give money to see cancer cured.
I am not so much upset about ACS's support for universal healthcare as I am about their use of my donations for partisan purposes - money that I believed was wholly going to cancer victims.
I feel conned, deceived, and let down by ACS.
If you would like to complain, visit their Web site at http://www.cancer.org.
But don't doubt all such nonprofits. If you wish to donate to pure cancer research, check out the Children's Cancer Research Fund and the National Foundation for Cancer Research.
Moreover, I would encourage you to donate just as much as you normally would to Relay for Life.
I will be donating my money to these organizations instead of the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.
As explained in a recent e-mail to past participants of Relay for Life, the American Cancer Society wrote, "Scientific evidence suggests that [the decline in cancer deaths] won't continue unless all Americans gain access to quality health care."
"Now we plan to educate Americans about the need for greater access to quality health care through an aggressive public awareness campaign featuring real people telling their own very real stories."
Let me simplify this in terms we can all understand: The American Cancer Society is using my money that I donated to Relay for Life to air TV commercials in support of universal healthcare.
Quite simply, I'm outraged.
Ms. McCaughey, a former lieutenant governor of New York, criticized the ACS in the Wall Street Journal, "The Society will devote this year's entire advertising budget to a campaign for universal health coverage."
That is a total of $15 million.
I have already seen evidence of this education campaign. When watching TV, I saw one of the new American Cancer Society commercials.
The screen flashed to different children who explained the importance of healthcare and the need for all Americans to gain access to healthcare.
I couldn't believe it. So this is what my Relay for Life donations were funding. Partisan propaganda.
The final slap in the face was the ACS Web site's comparison of the campaign to their
1960s campaign to educate the public about the dangers of tobacco use.
Their comparison is flawed. Virtually every scientist acknowledges the link between cancer and smoking; there is no such proven link between cures for cancer and universal healthcare.
Moreover, there is still partisan debate about the pros and cons of universal healthcare.
This issue should be settled by politicians and citizens, not by nonprofit organizations whose donors give money to see cancer cured.
I am not so much upset about ACS's support for universal healthcare as I am about their use of my donations for partisan purposes - money that I believed was wholly going to cancer victims.
I feel conned, deceived, and let down by ACS.
If you would like to complain, visit their Web site at http://www.cancer.org.
But don't doubt all such nonprofits. If you wish to donate to pure cancer research, check out the Children's Cancer Research Fund and the National Foundation for Cancer Research.
Moreover, I would encourage you to donate just as much as you normally would to Relay for Life.
I will be donating my money to these organizations instead of the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.
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