For Pinkathon SF participants who would like to raise money from their family, friends and coworkers, here is a sample letter/email to give you an idea of what to say. Please make sure to include a link to the Pinkathon San Francisco fundraising page for BCRF in your letter – https://give.bcrf.com/2019PinkathonSF . Even better, become a member of the Pinkathon SF Fundraising Team on give.bcrf.org. Click here for instructions on how to create your own Pinkathon SF fundraising page.
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Dear _______________:
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month! On October 26, 2019, I will be participating in the Pinkathon San Francisco, a run to support the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) (Insert your own BCRF Fundraising Page URL). I’d like to ask for your help to support this cause, because it is near and dear to my heart.
My Connection to the Cause:
[Your photo here]
My Story (YOUR Story)
My story began in December 1999, when I was young and healthy, and I had already completed 7 Marathons and numerous triathlons. The night before I was scheduled for a routine mammogram, I found an unusual small hard lump in the space between my breasts, but sort of to the right. Since I had NO family history of breast cancer, I thought maybe it was just a bone that I hadn’t noticed before. Unfortunately, it turned out to be early stage Breast Cancer – Ductal Carcinoma In Situ. The biopsy later showed that in my particular case, the cancer cells were *aggressive* and had I not been diagnosed early, the cancer probably would have spread. Because the margins around my first specimen were disputably small, we opted for a second lumpectomy to make sure that we got out all of the bad cells. I then underwent 6 weeks of radiation therapy, followed by 5 years of Tamoxifen therapy. I have been cancer free ever since, and have finished dozens more Marathons and triathlons in the past 16 years. But had we not found the cancer early – I might not be here today to write you this letter. That’s why raising money for Breast Cancer research is so important to me. We really need to better understand the causes of breast cancer and better ways to prevent and treat and cure it.
Did you know?
- About 1 in 8 U.S. women (about 12%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.
- About 85% of breast cancers occur in women who have NO family history of breast cancer.
- Healthy, athletic people with NO family history can and do get Breast Cancer. I did.
- For women in the U.S., breast cancer death rates are higher than those for any other cancer, besides lung cancer.
Why donate to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation?
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) is the top-rated Breast Cancer charity in the USA. According to Charity Navigator.org, 90.9% of BCRF’s budget goes directly to support Breast Cancer research programs. For the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the figure is 81.47%. For the Breast Cancer Fund, the figure is 76.8%. For the Avon Foundation, the figure is 76.1%. To see why BCRF is tops in the rankings, go to CharityNavigator.org.
Please use this link – https://give.bcrf.org/Ellen2019Pinkathon– to make a tax-deductible donation in ANY amount to support the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. This link is for my personal fundraising page as a member of the Pinkathon San Francisco team. 100% of your donation goes directly to the charity. The Pinkathon San Francisco does not touch a penny of it. The reason to use this link is so that the Pinkathon SF and I can see exactly how much money we raised. If you prefer, your donation can by Anonymous. You can also make a donation through the Pinkathon San Francisco’s main fundraising page – although I won’t get credit for bringing in your donation.
Donations by Check
Please make checks payable to: “Breast Cancer Research Foundation” or “BCRF”. In the “notes” part of your check, write “Pinkathon SF 2019”. If you are donating on behalf of a specific Pinkathon participant, in the “notes” section, write [Name of Participant], Pinkathon SF 2019.
Donation Deadline – Determine your own deadline, such as 12/31/19.
The 2019 Pinkathon San Francisco happens on October 26, 2019. It would be great if you could make your donation before then. However, we will accept donations until ________.
Thanks in advance for your help in raising money for the Breast Cancer Research Fund!
Ellen
