Editor’s Note: Jennifer Smith is a Chambana mom on a mission – to raise awareness and funds for metastic breast cancer and to help young women facing a breast cancer diagnosis. This is a note that she posted on her Facebook; reprinted with permission. Let’s help her raise $41,000 in 31 days! Come back and tell us you donated and we will match every comment with a $1, up to $100. Please share widely.
By Jennifer Smith
Four years ago this Sept. 7 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Since then, I’ve learned the breast cancer has returned and spread to my bones. I’ve learned it returned again and I’ve learned that it has continued to grow. I have had five surgeries, I’ve been on 15 different anti-cancer treatments (anti-hormonal, bone building, chemo), and I’ve had radiation to three different parts of my body. On Wednesday I will celebrate as I continue to beat the statistics. I hope you will join me in celebrating by reading below and making a donation. Many of you have asked how you can help…here is a simple, yet impactful, way you can!! My incredible friend Sally (who also has Stage IV breast cancer) created $41K in 31 days.
As we approach October (or Pink-tober) and all of the Breast Cancer Awareness campaigns, Facebook games, etc, I believe we can do something less about the pink and more about the green. I hope you will join me in spreading a real message about breast cancer to all of your friends. My goal is to raise $41,000 dollars, one dollar for every life lost to breast cancer this year, in 31 days. How you ask? Just like the viral “awareness” games spread and forwarded around the world via social networking, I believe we can do the same thing and have a real impact in the fight against breast cancer. Did you know that 100% of breast cancer deaths are due to metastasis (when it spreads to organs outside the breast)? Did you know that approximately 41,000 women and men die each and every year in America alone from metastatic breast cancer? Did you know that less than 2% of all money raised for breast cancer research is used to research metastatic breast cancer? Knowing these facts is awareness. Doing something about it is action!
Here is what I propose.
Please forward this to everyone (men and women) in your friends list or share on Facebook and ask them to join the 31 Day Project and make a minimum of a $1.00 donation to the cause. Larger donations are always welcome, but if everyone forwards this to their friends list and each friend donates one dollar and forwards to their friends and so on, we can accomplish this goal. The money will go through “Network for Good” who will then distribute the funds to The Pink Daisy Project, a non-profit organization doing amazing things for young women dealing with the trials and tribulations of a breast cancer diagnosis. Half of all money raised will remain with the Pink Daisy Project and the other half will be presented to MetaVivor Research and Support, Inc. to be used for a research grant. Please read on to see what these organizations are doing and join me in the 31 Day project. Let’s move beyond “awareness” and take “action”!
The Pink Daisy Project is a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to helping young women with breast cancer manage treatment a little easier. The Pink Daisy Project isn’t raising money for research or awareness. Our goals are simple: to help young women cope with the hardships of breast cancer treatment by providing care and comfort through assistance with groceries and meals, money for prescription costs and housecleaning, just to name a few! The Pink Daisy Project’s creator, my friend, Debbie Cantwell, was recently featured on CNN as a CNN Hero for the work she is doing!
METAvivor Research and Support is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization for metastatic breast cancer. METAvivor offers support, raises awareness, undertakes political advocacy and raises funds year round to award annual metastatic breast cancer research grants. METAvivor puts 100% of all research-specified donations into its annual research grants.
Please join the 31 Day Project today! Let’s take action! **Join the cause, make a donation and change your status to:
41K in 31 days — Now that’s ACTION!