Seattlites Resist Donating to Susan G Komen’s Race For a Cure

By Rachel Belle

Last year, 14,000 people pinned on pink ribbons and
walked, jogged or ran in Seattle’s Susan G Komen Race For
a Cure, to raise money for breast cancer prevention and
research. This year, they’re seeing a 36 percent drop in
registration for the June 3rd race.

It was back in January when the national Susan G Komen
organization announced they were cutting grant funds to
Planned Parenthood. It was seen as a political, pro-Life
decision and the nation went into a frenzy. Three days, a
few Susan G Komen employee resignations and half a million
dollars worth of public donations to Planned Parenthood
later, Komen reversed it’s decision. But it was too late.
A lot of people, across the country, made the decision to
stop supporting Susan G Komen, and redirected their
dollars towards Planned Parenthood instead. Now, executive
director for the Puget Sound Susan G
Komen for the Cure, Cheryl Shaw wants to set some
things straight.

“We were not a part of the decision, we were not a part
of the discussion. We were informed, as the public was
informed, of that national decision. As the public voiced
their concerns, we previously had voiced our concerns and
and had requested that the decision be changed. It was not
changed and so here we are.”

She hopes that people who have halted their donations,
and involvement with Race for a Cure, will come back
around.

“We operate independently. We do our own fundraising.
All of the funds that we raise, 75% stays here in this
community to help local women and then 25% goes to
national research, global research, to find a cure. None
of our funds go to national administration.”

I asked Cheryl if she thinks Susan G Komen should be
getting involved in politics.

“Absolutely not. Our mission is to save lives and our
focus is on the women that we serve and should always be
that way. I think what is disheartening is that decisions
that are made by individuals who are not donating to Komen
are affecting women. We see headlines about ‘Komen is
going to be hurt,’ ‘Race For A Cure’ is going to be hurt.’
Women in this community are going to be hurt. We stay
focused on the women that we serve and the mission that
this organization is all about. And that’s to save lives.”

To put it into perspective, Cheryl says a 36% drop in
participation means 30% fewer mammograms for local,
underprivileged and uninsured women.

“I’m upset. I am a survivor and I’m concerned because
with our fundraising the way it is now, I know that there
are going to be women who do not get screened early enough
in order to have treatment that they deserve. I’m
concerned and I’m also upset because I think that whenever
we make decisions on an organizational level, or an
individual level, it’s beyond us. We have to think outside
of ourselves in order to determine who, ultimately, is
impacted.”

Cheryl knows that some people are directing their money
towards other women’s health organizations, but she says
no one else focuses on breast cancer like they do.

“If they don’t come back and fund those women through
Komen, in essence, the women are still losing. That’s what
I’m very frustrated about is that we have been put in a
situation where we have to defend the fact that we serve
underserved women. We have never wavered from that, we
will never waver from that. As a survivor, as a woman who
grew up in an underserved population, as a woman of color,
this is extremely personal and it’s very important.”

Click
here for information on how to sign up for the June 3,
2012 Race For the Cure in Seattle.