<p>I volunteered the past 4 years at our local Komen event with my Girl Scout troop. They are now college freshman, I don’t need them to make a tough choice. </p>
<p>Our local Komen race was a moving event - I was typically teary-eyed by some of the memorial shirts. It also empowering women to talk about breast health - a subject my mother still thinks is taboo. She always changes the subject when I ask her if she had a mamogram, given her mother died of breast cancer. </p>
<p>I agree it has damaged the brand by introducing politics into what was a cause that appeared to cross all demographic boundaries. Komen will likely survive, as it will appeal to some people, however the untarnished appeal it had to everyone has been forever changed.</p>
<p>I completely echo the sentiment that from the corporate management point of view, this was an incredibly dumb move (the original decision to defund PP, that is).</p>
<p>They can’t recover from this even though they now reversed the decision.</p>
<p>By getting into this controversy, they created a platform where all of their actions are outed and examined. For instance, I did not know that they stopped funding research involving stem cells, I did not know that they were populated by the right leaning people at the top ready to “walk the talk” - meaning, I no longer trust them in terms of their impartiality going into the future. I did not know that they are so litigious that you can’t use the word “the Cure” (by the way I am flabbergasted that a word can be trademarked).</p>
<p>I used to buy all thing pink when they are available thinking that it’s going into good cause. Not anymore. I will direct my good will else where.</p>
<p>Hmmm. Interesting. The fact that PP is a left leaning organization does not seem to bother you but just learning that there are right leaning people in an organization now changes everything? The fact that Komen has helped so many women with breast cancer and will help many women live longer with an early diagnosis and treatment that has come from research they funded. </p>
<p>Quote (my quote):
However things turn out, I think that it will cause people to better educate themselves about where Komen spends its money, who it aligns itself with, and whether donations may (or may not) be better directed elsewhere. I put that in the “good” category.</p>
<p>Zoosermom:
I actually worked with Komen in a previous job, so I do know where the donations go. So let’s not condescend.</p>
<p>To whom do you think I was condescending? I meant this sincerely. Like sunriseast, I think this whole debacle has been a learning experience for quite a few people - myself included. I’ve been very torn about Komen for awhile (and had previously donated and participated in walks with friends who have had BC) and have been paying attention to where they spend their $, etc., and I’m still learning things as well. For example, I didn’t know they had stopped funding research involving stem cells.</p>
<p>Of course, I am partisan on this issue. The point I was making is, I was MISTAKENLY supporting the people who are acting on the opposite value that I endorse. SO, yes, I will withdraw my support. Now, there are many of us who learned WHO really runs SGK, and now that we know it, we will no longer support it.</p>
<p>Incredible stupidity on their part is that they did not have to alert me and cause me to act in this manner. </p>
<p>Regarding funding for cure for women with cancer, it so happens that SGK is NOT the only game in town. So, I will continue to be generous with those whose organizational politics are not offensive to me or those whose executives are not stupid enough to PR their biases in a broad daylight. My money. My choice.</p>
<p>With long experience in fortune 100 corporations at the HQ level, I am just amazed that people who should know better is doing this to their corporate brand. I don’t see how they can recover from this anytime soon if ever.</p>
<p>Komen is cutting off funding to the most needy women in terms of getting an early diagnosis and treatment. They are also cutting off funding for one of the most promising venue for a cure in the name of appeasing people who put fetuses ahead of women with breast cancer. That is not in keeping with my values. </p>
<p>I sincerely hope those of you who are so opposed to PP are working diligently to fund health clinics in your community who serve the poor. Our local family planning clinic not provides screening for breast cancer, we provide screening for diabetes, blood pressure and so on. We provide referrals and funds for follow ups whenever possible. But because we also provide the name and phone number of the one doctor in our area who does provide abortions, we are in a constant fight to stay open at all.</p>
<p>GA only elects Republicans statewide and Handel was the moderate in the group this year. It is a shame that she manipulated this, and she probably did. She is a politician at heart, not a non-profit executive. She hit a wall when she ran for Governor and lost, not sure what her next step will be.</p>
<p>As I said before, there was already reason enough to be skeptical of Komen because of their claim to own the words “the cure.” I understand (I think) protecting the pink ribbon, but seriously words. Shame on them.</p>
<p>What is your point here? Nobody (at least nobody who doesn’t live under a rock) has just discovered after years of donating to PP that it provides abortions. Contributors to PP already knew what it was. People who are opposed to abortion don’t donate to PP. It doesn’t bother me that PP provides abortions. In fact I just gave them a huge donation. </p>
<p>But plenty of people who have in the past donated to Komen and done their charity events have just discovered that Komen is run by right-wingers, who tried to defund PP. Many are happy, but many are unhappy and will stop contributing. Komen has just made itself into a smaller organization. I doubt that was their intention, but that is the result.</p>
<p>That’s fine. Just as I would never donate to PP or any other organization that funds abortions. So I guess we will just have to agree to disagree.</p>
<p>'Cause I like to fight, I went over to Facebook, to the comments section of YouTube under Brinker’s statement, and to Komen’s own online forum. Whatever the truth of the rationale about the decision, Brinker was lying that the response was “very, very favorable.” Comments were running about 10-1 against Komen both places.</p>
<p>“I sincerely hope those of you who are so opposed to PP are working diligently to fund health clinics in your community who serve the poor. Our local family planning clinic not provides screening for breast cancer, we provide screening for diabetes, blood pressure and so on. We provide referrals and funds for follow ups whenever possible. But because we also provide the name and phone number of the one doctor in our area who does provide abortions, we are in a constant fight to stay open at all.”</p>
<p>Thank you for doing all that you do. (Now, if we had a decent, rational, humane, Medicare-for-all-style health care system, would we really need you? That’s not a rhetorical question - I’m really interested in what you think.)</p>
<p>One thing I don’t think has really been expounded upon here is the increasing power of social media. D1 was a public policy minor at Syracuse with her major being PR. She has worked in agencies that are exclusively devoted to serving clients who are in health care. In fact, one of her peers from college had a PR internship at SGK a few years ago.</p>
<p>I would guess that this whole fiasco is going to go down in the history books of how social media impacts such events. I suspect ten years from now, this fiasco will still be studied in classrooms across the country.</p>
<p>Don’t know how I missed this thread yesterday but will just say that I’m ITA with CF’s post no. 130. I’ve been wary of the pink monster for a while. Also, thought I’d post this:</p>
<p>I have been on my own since I was 17 & until I was married at 24, ( to a guy that had decent health insurance), Planned Parenthood provided the majority of my health care. Not just gyn exams & birth control, but the nurse practitioners were very caring and would slip in advice about nutrition & substance abuse.</p>
<p>They provide health care to people who don’t have anywhere else to go & it is a shame that some communities do not have PP as a resource.</p>
<p>Cardinal-that was my thought. Brinker deluded herself about the decision and inaccurately/falsely claimed that the overwhelming response was positive. That says much about their true position imho.</p>
<p>“Did you guys read the entire Komen statement. It is very confusing.”</p>
<p>I did read it, and noted that it says this in relation to PP: **We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants, **</p>
<p>They aren’t saying that future grants will be funded, just that PP will remain eligible to apply for them. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.</p>