Message from Linda Mickelson,
CEO of the Alberta Cancer Foundations
As we near this year’s Weekend to End Breast Cancer benefiting the Alberta Cancer Foundation, I’d like to update you on the incredible impact you’re making with this event. I am doing this because it’s important for you to know that your hard work has already made a huge difference, and will continue to do so with your commitment. Just consider Susan Leach.
When Susan was diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2006, she benefited from leading edge treatments and care provided at our Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary. While still undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment, Susan started training for The Weekend to End Breast Cancer. It was an opportunity to focus on getting healthy and to show her gratitude for those who had participated in 2005 and made it possible for her to access an exciting new drug designed to reduce the chances of recurrence. Proceeds from The Weekend to End Breast Cancer enabled over 180 women to receive Herceptin while the drug was under review for government funding.
Susan is one voice for so many who have faced this disease. Albertans diagnosed with breast cancer count on the Alberta Cancer Board and Foundation to provide them with some of the most effective treatment programs and best-equipped facilities available in Canada. Thanks to expert teams at the Cross Cancer Institute, Tom Baker Cancer Centre and 15 other cancer centres, and with help from the dedicated men and women who participate in The Weekend to End Breast Cancer, they receive the best in new treatments and compassionate care no matter where they live in our province. These are your dollars at work!
As a result of the 2005 and 2006 Weekends, the Alberta Cancer Foundation has invested over $12 M in research, prevention and screening initiatives, special equipment, and programs to benefit breast cancer patients and families throughout the province. So thank you! These wonderful advancements would not have been possible without you and The Weekend:
- $3 M launched the Alberta Breast Cancer Research Initiative funding 12 new projects
- $1 M provided bridge funding to enable over 180 women to access Herceptin
- $1.1 M purchased a fully equipped van for the provincial Breast Screening Program, a dedicated ultrasound for the breast surgery suite at the Cross Cancer Institute, and a genetic analyzer for breast labs at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre
- $3 million was endowed toward establishment of a $5 million Weekend to End Breast Cancer Chair in Breast Cancer Research
- $1.8 million provided ongoing funding for 12 research projects and 9 new research grants under the Alberta Breast Cancer Research Initiative
- $2.3 million was set aside for the purchase of new technology for the provincial Breast Screening Program
- $10,000 sponsored the Positively Pink Breast Health Education Conference in Calgary
You’ll find even more details about The Weekend’s tremendous impact by visiting here. With this information you can rest assured that the money you worked so hard to raise is being invested and managed wisely.
All of the funds raised through The Weekend to End Breast Cancer in Alberta come directly to the Alberta Cancer Foundation. Then, the ACF pays all of the expenses according to a Trustee approved budget for the event. While the net proceeds depend entirely on the number of participants and the amount that they raise, the average net in 2005 and 2006 events was 65%.
The ACF prides itself on maintaining our overall cost of fundraising and administration at less than 20% of our total annual revenue. In 2006 our total cost of fundraising and administration (including The Weekend) was only 17% of total revenue. We carefully consider the cost of major events such as The Weekend to End Breast Cancer and believe that the additional expenditures will pay off by enabling us to reach more donors and raise more dollars for cancer research, prevention and patient care in our province.
In short, you can take great pride with the knowledge that you are making a tremendous difference - today and tomorrow - as Albertans step up to the challenge of a Cancer Free Future.
I thank you sincerely,
Linda Mickelson
Chief Executive Officer
Alberta Cancer Foundation