Twenty five years ago, it would have been impossible to imagine the impact that a single promise forged between two sisters in Texas would have on the Sacramento region. Yet in 1982, Nancy G. Brinker swore to her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, that she would do everything she could in her lifetime to put an end to breast cancer.
What started with that promise has evolved into a worldwide movement to secure quality breast health care for the masses and energize the scientific community to seek cures for the disease. As a result of the efforts by Komen for the Cure, komensacramento.org., which until recently was the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, nearly 75 percent of women over age 40 get regular screening mammograms, compared to just 30 percent in 1982. Prior to the organization’s creation, the five-year survival rate for breast cancer before it spread beyond the breast was just 74 percent; today it’s 98 percent.
Sacramento Valley Story
Nearly 12 years ago, the Sacramento Valley affiliate joined the national organization and held the area’s first Race for the Cure, the organization’s signature event. That year, five people got together, hired a race director and crossed their fingers. Sacramento’s inaugural race drew 2,000 breast cancer survivors and loved ones, and it raised a total of approximately $200,000 to help meet local breast health and education needs.
“At our meeting following the race, everyone pointed their finger at me suggesting I take the helm,” says Donna Sanderson, Komen’s Sacramento Valley Executive Director. “I wavered for a little bit about taking the challenge, because we weren’t too organized, but they had the smarts to send me to the national conference where I saw all the amazing resources that would be available to us. That’s what sealed the deal for me.”
“Raley’s Family of Fine Stores has been the affiliate’s local presenting sponsor for the race since day one,” says Nancy McGagin, manager of corporate consumer affairs. “We took a chance that first year, but once we saw Donna at the helm and witnessed her leadership style, it was an easy decision to continue our support. She has an excellent sense of both the business and the non-profit worlds and can lace the two together seamlessly.”
Much like the birth of the movement between two sisters, the Sacramento affiliate had positively humble beginnings among friends with a shared vision. Its start also coincided at a time when the issue of breast cancer was just beginning to be discussed in public. Prior to the mid-1990s, most traditional media outlets wouldn’t print or say the words ‘breast cancer.’ Sanderson believes that because the national foundation had already gained traction, it made it easier for her to garner the support of media and other key sponsors for the race. Today, the Komen board has grown from three to eight members who focus on the affiliate’s strategic planning, and 25 committee members who focus solely on the race that takes place each Mother’s Day weekend and recently raised $2.4 million with 24,000 racers in attendance. The affiliate now comprises 17 county areas in Northern California (Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Western El Dorado, Western Nevada, Western Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Sierra, Eastern Solano, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tuolumne, Yolo and Yuba).
Sanderson’s Personal Path
It was Sanderson’s love of golf that was the incongruous catalyst for connecting her with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, and she knew nothing about breast cancer. In 1993, she was a budding golfer and planned to volunteer for Komen so that she might get paired with a bigger professional name. Sanderson began volunteering in August for the October event, but she never played that year. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mastectomy by the time the tournament took place.
“I went through chemotherapy treatments and played in the following year’s event,” Sanderson says. “Still, I wasn’t cemented as a volunteer; I wasn’t sure that was where I wanted to devote my energies. Going to that national convention really turned me around. I’ve landed someplace I was meant to be and where I can make a difference. It doesn’t feel like work; it feels like life.
Komen for the Cure – Track Record
Sanderson feels that the Sacramento Valley affiliate has risen to the call in spectacular fashion. There now are 125 year-round volunteers and nearly 950 race volunteers who they’ve never recruited. Not only are people generous with their time but also their money. Two years ago, the affiliate was tied with New York City for the most money raised at $250 per racer. The Komen for the Cure affiliate sends a full 75 percent of the money it raises back into the Northern California communities within that same fiscal year.
“We pump our money back into organizations in this region that have the infrastructure to provide direct services,” says Sanderson. “We’re a funding source that also provides public education through health fairs and other venues.”
Mary Pare, a breast cancer navigator at the Sutter Cancer Center in Sacramento that has received Komen funds, sees Sanderson as a true visionary.
“Donna understands the outreach need to underserved communities, and as a result of the Komen grant, we developed pamphlets about the side effects of chemotherapy in Russian, Chinese and Spanish,” says Pare. “But one of Donna’s most amazing qualities is her ability to bring disparate people together to support the cause like the Sacramento Monarchs, the Rivercats, and even a group called, ‘Bunko for the Cure.’”
How long will Sanderson continue at the helm of the organization she has helped guide from its infancy?
“I’ll probably serve another five years and then volunteer after that; I think I’m a lifer until we find the cures,” Sanderson declares. “I feel my purpose is to get as close to that as possible in my lifetime. I don’t believe in hope alone. There has to be action, and I think we can be the catalyst to make that happen.”
Upcoming Activities by Komen for the Cure:
In honor of the 25th anniversary of the founding of the national organization, 25 cities in the U.S. were selected to engage in a community challenge that will inspire areas to put breast cancer on the forefront of public action again to speed up the search for the cure.
“Our goal is to close the gap in services for underinsured and uninsured women, and breast health screening for men.” Sanderson says. “Even though the Sacramento affiliate was selected as one of the 25 national communities, we decided to form a collaborative group with all seven California affiliates that will converge on the state Capitol in January 2008 to hold a rally and lobby legislators.”
In October, the Komen affiliate will be involved in the national initiative, “Passionately Pink for the Cure,” an effort where a company or state organization donates five dollars to the cause and employees wear pink for a particular day, week or month.
