Illinois Mission Messenger Newsletter - July 18, 2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - July 18, 2003

The Illinois
Mission Messenger
News and Information to Support Our Progress Toward Our 2015 Goals
July 18, 2003

Skokie Passes State's Toughest Clean Indoor Air Ordinance; Little Movement on Chicago Measure.

The Mayor and Trustees of the Chicago suburb of Skokie took a step in the right direction July 7 by voting 6-1 to strengthen their village's clean indoor air ordinance. The new ordinance -- now the state's toughest -- makes most enclosed public places and work places, including many restaurants, smoke free. Exempted from the new legislation are bars, bowling alleys and tobacco shops. About 12 restaurants that have bars could allow smoking in the bar area, provided it is separated from the rest of the restaurant by floor-to-ceiling walls and ventilated by a separate system. The Skokie Citizens for Clean Indoor Air Coalition opposed this provision, as no ventilation system currently on the market can remove cancer-causing chemicals from the air and thus would continue to expose workers to the dangers of secondhand smoke.

Kudos to all of the North Shore Region volunteers, as well as North Shore Regional Director Terra Levin and Division Grassroots Advocacy Manager Martha Kieffer, for rallying the ardent and persistent grassroots support that helped pass the Skokie ordinance.

Meanwhile, Chicago Aldermen Ed Smith (28th) and Ed Burke (14th) say they are working to reconcile differences in the anti-smoking ordinances they each presented to the City Council last winter. Community support for a Chicago ordinance continues to grow. Recently, the commissioners of the Illinois Medical District -- which is located on Chicago's near west side and includes Rush Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, the University of Illinois at Chicago, the Veterans' Administration Lake Side/West Side Medical Center and the Cook County Bureau of Health and Human Services -- unanimously passed a resolution encouraging local governmental bodies to adopt smoke-free ordinances.

Governor Expected to Sign Colorectal Screening Bill; Your Call Can Still Help
As reported earlier, Senate Bill 1417, which provides insurance coverage for colorectal cancer screening, has passed the Illinois General Assembly and is awaiting signature by Gov. Rod Blagojevich. While the governor is expected to approve the bill, Illinois Division advocacy volunteers and staff are working with the governor's staff in hopes of arranging a public bill signing ceremony. Such a ceremony would provide an opportunity for significant media attention to the legislation and to colorectal cancer awareness. Your call to the governor's office, urging him to sign the bill, will demonstrate that this issue is important to constituents and that a show of public support for the bill would be viewed favorably. To reach the governor's office in Springfield, phone 217-782-6830; in Chicago call 312-814-2121.

Proposed Federal Appropriations for Cancer Research Disappointing;
"I CAN" Week Urges Increased Funding After several years of increases in funding for the National Institutes of Health (or NIH, which operates the National Cancer Institute) the funding level now proposed by President Bush and Congress for fiscal year 2004 falls dramatically short of what the Society has determined is needed to prevent, detect and treat deadly diseases. The Society believes an increase of 8.5 percent for the NIH budget is necessary to fulfill the promise of new breakthroughs in the fight against cancer. Unfortunately, the Labor-Health and Human Services appropriations bill recently passed by the House of Representatives calls for just a 2.5% increase -- which, after inflation, amounts to flat funding; the Senate proposal, which includes a 3.7 percent increase and is expected to pass before the August recess, is not much better.

To draw attention to the need for additional funding, the Society's sister advocacy organization, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), is "ramping up" its grassroots advocacy efforts; the goal is to keep the momentum going into August in order to potentially impact the outcome of September's conference committee decision. One key initiative has been this week's "I CAN" campaign, featuring actress Fran Drescher, best known for her title role in the television show "The Nanny." A uterine cancer survivor and author of the best selling Cancer Schmancer, Drescher has served as spokesperson, encouraging volunteers across the country to contact their representatives in Congress. To send messages to Senators Dick Durbin and Peter Fitzgerald and to your representative in the House, go to www.cancer.org/takeaction.

Maywood Raises Community Cancer Awareness with First-Time Relay The June 27-28 Relay for Life of Maywood was that community's first-ever Relay event and an important step in the Illinois Division's efforts to reach minority populations with cancer awareness messages. The predominantly African American community achieved a resounding success with its inaugural Relay, raising $45,600 -- 63 percent more than the $28,000 goal. "This event really got started within the community," says the West Cook Region's Ann Hohimer, who staffed the event. "Members of a cancer survivors' support group from a local church had participated in the Brookfield Relay last year, and they came to us and asked to start their own event." As with any first-time undertaking, there was a learning curve. "Many team members were new to fundraising and weren't comfortable asking for money," says Hohimer. "But the teams worked together to come up with creative ideas and held joint fundraisers such as a skating party and a group yard sale." With each event, the committee -- chaired by cancer survivors Terry Buford and Peggy Alexander -- worked to raise community awareness of the Relay event and of the disproportionate cancer burden among African Americans. By Saturday, June 21, the committee literally took its message to the streets, with a parade through town that included a marching band, cheerleaders, Clydesdale horses and team cars decorated in Relay purple -- as well as informational flyers. "I think that was the springboard that led a lot of people to show up for the event later that week," says Hohimer. "I've never seen so many people at a Relay."

Hohimer credits much of the Relay's success to the fact that many members of the event committee were survivors or had been touched by cancer. "They were doing this because they wanted to bring cancer information to the community. That message was stressed at every meeting and event." As a result, a Tell-A-Friend group has been created in Maywood, and some local churches and other organizations have expressed interest in organizing teams for next year's Relay For Life.

High School Senior Honors Father, Raises $11K for Relay Ashley Strand is 18-years old and a recent graduate of Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park, Ill. Each year while she was in high school, she participated in the All-Youth Relay For Life of Orland Park. This year, having lost her father, Robert R. Strand, to cancer in October, the event held extra meaning for Ashley. She wrote a simply worded, heartfelt letter explaining why she was participating in Relay. "My experiences dealing with this dreadful disease over the last two years have made me want to do my part in the fight against cancer," she wrote."Hopefully, with our efforts, we can save some family from going through the heartache my family has experienced." Ashley sent the letter to family and friends who had attended her father's funeral and was overwhelmed by the response: all told, she received $11,800 in donations. "We'd go out to the mailbox every day, and there'd be all these envelopes," Ashley says. "We never expected it."

Staci Calvert, the Income Development Field Representative in the Prairie Land Regional Office who staffed the May 30-31 event, admires Ashley's dedication. "I've used her as an example to inspire adult team leaders," says Calvert. "This is a teen who has prom and boyfriends and college decisions to think about. But she got involved because she lost her father and she doesn't want that to happen to anyone else." Ashley, who will study business at the University of Illinios at Urbana-Champaign beginning this fall, is modest about the achievement. "It just shows that, with a little effort, you can make a difference," she says. Ashley now passes the tradition on to her sister Lindsey, a sophomore at Carl Sandburg High School, who has joined the Relay organizing committee for next year.

North Shore Children Learn to Make Healthy Choices for Life This summer, for the second year in a row, the North Shore regional Office is visiting local summer camps with a program designed to help children make "Healthy Choices for Life." Children who attend the program learn to SLIP on a shirt, SLOP on sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher, SLAP on a hat, and WRAP on sunglasses when outdoors. They also learn why it's important to eat at least five fruits and vegetables a day, exercise for 45-60 minutes a day at least five days a week, and stay away from tobacco smoke. At the conclusion of the program, the children receive a bag of materials with educational worksheets, bookmarks, sunscreen, and materials for their parents.

To date, more than 650 children have participated in the program; the goal is to reach 1000 children before summer's end. In addition, the program has reached more than 100 camp counselors with information about the same topics. The information is designed not only to benefit the counselors' personal health, but to help them reinforce these important messages with their young charges throughout the summer.

Kara Speer, a graduate student in public health at University of Illinois, Chicago Circle and an intern at the North Shore regional office this summer, is coordinating this year's "Healthy Choices for Life" program. Helen Papantoniou at the North Shore regional office is the creative energy behind the program.

ACS Ad Campaign Win Industry Award for Effectiveness The Society's Hope.Progress.Answers. nationwide advertising campaign has been honored with a bronze Effie Award. Presented annually by the New York American Marketing Association, the EFFIE is an international award recognizing advertising campaigns that delivered superior results in meeting their objectives. The ACS campaign featured three TV spots highlighting specific ways the American Cancer Society helps those touched by cancer: Reach to Recovery, Cancer Survivors Network, and the 24-hour toll-free telephone information available through the National Cancer Information Center (NCIC) at 1-800-ACS -2345. While the advertising aired last year, the Society experienced:

* a 17 percent overall increase in calls to the NCIC;
* a 25 percent overall increase in unique visitors to www.cancer.org; and
* a 355 percent increase in the number of new registrants to the Cancer Survivors Network.

The Illinois Mission Messenger is produced biweekly by the American Cancer Society Illinois Division Communications department and distributed to division and regional board members and volunteers. We welcome your questions and comments. Please send e-mail to mission.messenger@cancer.org.