People love donating money.
They love the feeling they get from doing “good.”
Relay for Life here at Waynesburg University is no different.
People raise money, do some walking and at the end of the day go home satisfied thinking they made a difference in the fight against cancer.
However, the average person wont look and see where that money goes. Like all charities- Relay for Life, and the American Cancer Society, not all the money that gets donated goes towards the “fight against cancer.”
According to the FAQ on the Relay website, they donate $0.73 to cancer research off of every dollar. However, upon further research, of that amount, only $0.01 goes towards childhood cancer research. In addition, that 73 cents that goes to research doesn’t all go to cancer research, in fact it goes elsewhere.
If you’re donating to Relay to “fight cancer,” you need to re-evaluate your decisions.
The mission of the American Cancer Society is “dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and service.”
That’s a great mission to live by. Through Relay, they spread awareness to communities and those who donate about cancer. Keep in mind though- spreading awareness requires some people to get paid.
According to CharityWatch.com and consumerreports.com, the American Cancer society isn’t even in the top 10 places to donate for cancer research.
Instead, places that focus on actual cancer research are on top as the money that they gather goes straight to research and employee pay unlike Relay who has a large chunk of donation percentage that goes into events. In fact, based on an info graphic made by Relay, $151million goes towards cancer research and $180 million goes towards fundraising expenses. Huh, more money goes towards holding these events than actually cancer research.
To be fair, $348 million goes towards patient support. Cancer prevention, information and education get $123 million, and cancer detection and treatment get $87 million.
Sure- they help. But for those who look to Relay as a chance to actually fight cancer and search for a cure- remember that more funding goes towards the event you’re participating in rather than a search for the cure.
Overall, some help to fight cancer is better than no help- just realize that the money you donate to Relay could do so much more if donated elsewhere- instead, a large portion of your money goes into the actual event.
I hate cancer as much as the next guy- just be smart with where you donate money and what your intentions are for that donated money.