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Donna Sanderson
Executive Director of the Sacramento Valley Affiliate
of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation

Donna is the Executive Director of the Sacramento Valley Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. They are holding their annual Race for the Cure on Saturday, May 12, 2007. The foundation is a progressive grassroots organization fighting breast cancer with a network of more than 75,000 volunteers working across the country and in Germany, Greece and Italy.


Favorites

Web site:	www.sackomen.org
Software:	Cardscan
Technogadget:	In Focus Projector for my laptop
Movie:	Men of Honor
Book:	"The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down", by Ann Fadiman
CD:	Live by Request, by k.d. Lang

When and where will the Race for the Cure be held?

The race will be held Saturday May 12 in Sacramento, California on Mother’s Day weekend. For more race details or to register online, click here.

What is the purpose of the walk?

There are a number of components to its purpose. One, the overriding purpose is breast cancer awareness.Breast cancer exists in our society in epidemic proportions. Our message is that early detection can save people’s lives. Not to be afraid of breast cancer, and you have some control. You can’t do anything about being diagnosed with breast cancer; there is no way to prevent it at this time. But if you are diagnosed there is something that can be done about it. If you catch it early enough, you have over a 95 percent chance of a five-year survival, or more. The second component is that it is also a fundraising event.

It’s also a celebration for breast cancer survivors. We do spend a few moments honoring those women and men who have died from breast cancer, and the rest of our celebration is truly a celebration for survivors, for all those women who have survived the disease. They all get free pink t-shirts and hats, and they wear those to the race. We will have well over 1,000 survivors out there this year. It is very important to the survivors themselves to see that yes, you too can survive the disease. And it’s really important for the rest of the people who are there to see that yes, you don’t have to be afraid. Women and men are surviving the disease. So it’s a very important visual image.

Has the race grown every year?

It has. When we started our first race, we had 2,300 people. This year we are expecting over 50,000. It’s good news and bad news. The bad news is that more people are being affected by the disease. The good news is that we’re doing something about it in a very positive way. We also want to be sure to thank Raley’s Family of Fine Stores for being our presenting sponsor since the beginning of the race!

Where do the proceeds from the walk go?

Seventy-five percent of our net funds stay here in the greater Sacramento valley. We have a 17 county service area, and that 75 percent goes back into those 17 counties. Twenty-five percent goes to our national grant program. None of our local monies go to support our national organization (Susan G. Komen Foundation) they do their own fundraising. Of the 25 percent we send to national, one hundred percent of that goes to research.

What kinds of programs are funded by the local money?

Education, screening and treatment programs. We have, right now, 19 different health-oriented programs that are receiving grant funds from us during the year 2003.

How can people get involved as participants or as volunteers for this year’s walk?

There are a number of ways. As a participant or as a volunteer, they can go to our website, www.sackomen.org and register online. We also have a special volunteer category, which is Men for the Cure. They get special t-shirts, which are very noticeable on race day because the different color stand’s out. It’s a way for men to show their support for the issue and the cause. We still need volunteers.

What is the mission of the Susan Komen Foundation?

The mission is to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease through advancing research, education, screening and treatment.

What can women do to protect themselves against breast cancer?

The best way to deal with it at this point is to follow our three steps to breast health. Number one is to get a yearly mammogram; number two to get yearly doctor’s exams; and number three to practice breast self-exams on a monthly basis.

How did you get involved in the Susan Komen Foundation?

Actually I got involved through another passion of mine, which is golf. I signed up to play in a golf tournament that the local Komen Foundation was putting on. I signed up in August because they were doing a LPGA, pro-am and I wanted to get to play with one of the top players. So I thought if I volunteered, I would be on the inside and get to have a choice as to whom I wanted to play with. I started volunteering in August. By the time the golf tournament came along in October, I had been diagnosed with breast cancer. It was my love of golf that really brought me to the Foundation, and it was being diagnosed with breast cancer that brought me even further into the Foundation and made me want to give something back to the community.

What is your personal philosophy toward volunteering for organizations such as this one?

I personally believe that it’s very important. I think we all, as citizens of our country and of the world as well, get something from the synergy of all of us working together. We reap tremendous benefits from each of us working together, no matter what it is that we’re working on. I think that in appreciation and in honor of that, of all the benefit we get from all of us living on this planet together and working together, volunteering is the way to give back. In these times, it’s the most critical element, I feel. There is a tendency for people not to volunteer as much when the economy is bad. And when the economy is bad, that is when we need the volunteers the most.