SPOTLIGHT CANCER Charity of the Day….. Alex’s Lemonade Stand

SPOTLIGHT CANCER Charity of the Day….. Alex’s Lemonade Stand

While we encounter hundreds of cancer charities in our work, few inspire us more than Alex’s Lemonade Stand. (Found here at https://www.alexslemonade.org/ and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/alexslemonade )Many of you may already know the story of how a girl named Alexandra “Alex” Scott not only created a fundraising opportunity to fight cancer but a global movement in the process, but if you don't....

Alex was diagnosed with cancer before the age on one. When she was four she convinced her parents to set up a front-yard lemonade stand. Remarkably, the stand helped raise $2,000 in one day to help doctors fight cancer…all initiated by Alex.

In 2004, Alex passed away at the age of eight. Her drive, spirit, and determination have inspired a movement that has helped Alex’s Lemonade raise more than 35 million to help fight cancer, 12 million alone coming from the sale of lemonade.

While we were never fortunate to meet Alex we feel connected to her work in so many ways. The movement that Alex helped create was simply AMAZING, and I’m sure those who knew this young source of inspiration, would call her the same….AMAZING ALEX.

Click on the video below to learn of Alex's story and see how she has inspired so many……

As 2010 begins to wind down, we reflect on the amazing work of individuals and organizations who are in the fight to abolish cancer. We also get inspired by the work of such great organizations like Alex's Lemonade Stand with the hope of a cure for 2011.

Please visit their web site or Twitter feed and join Alex in the fight.

"Power of the People, Through Twitter, to @abolishcancer"!

SPOTLIGHT Cancer Charity of the Day…….. Camp Happy Times

Our SPOTLIGHT Cancer Charity of the Day…….. Camp Happy Times

Here is a brief description of the wonderful work from the Camp’s website,

“For more than 25 years, The Valerie Fund has operated Camp Happy Times, a free one-week overnight camp experience for children aged 5-21 who have or have had cancer. Nearly 200 children each summer attend Camp Happy Times located at the two hundred acre Tyler Hill Camp in Wayne County, Pennsylvania. Tyler Hill is fully accredited by the American Camping Association and Camp Happy Times is a proud member of the International Children's Oncology Camping Association.

Camp Happy Times promotes friendship, independence, and a spirit of cooperation for cancer patients and survivors. The CHT philosophy is to provide a recreationally therapeutic environment that engages participants while building self-esteem, confidence, trust and friendship.

The hallmark of the Camp Happy Times experience is that while they are there, thecampers do not feel self-conscious about their illness. Campers consistently revel in the fact that they don’t have

to explain their disease to their fellow campers”

Here’s more information about the Valerie Fund which provides support for health care of children with cancer and blood disorders. The Valerie Fund supports the “whole family” in the battle and tackles not only the medical needs but also the social, emotional and developmental needs of the child. We encourage you to visit their site and offer ways to assist. (Twitter site @thevaleriefund)

We also offer Twitterthons, see how they work here, to provide support for cancer charities with the idea of raising more awareness and $ for the cancer organizations.

If interested in a Twitterthon with @abolishcancer and Camp Happy Times, email us at Bonham.Darah@Gmail.com

“Power of the People, Through Twitter, to @abolishcancer”

SPOTLIGHT Cancer Charity of the Day- TEXAS4000

Our SPOTLIGHT Cancer Charity of the Day is…… TEXAS 4000 for CANCER.

Texas 4000 for Cancer is comprised of a group of about 50 undergraduate students at The University of Texas at Austin. During the summer of 2011, a team will ride their bicycles 4,500 miles from Austin, Texas to Anchorage, Alaska to raise money for cancer research as well as spread their mission of hope, knowledge, and charity. They are the world's longest annual charity bicycle ride! Each rider on the team must individually raise $4,500 - $1 for each mile. In addition to their individual fundraising efforts, they have many team-fundraising events that contribute to their goal of $400,000. They spend the entire year leading up to the ride preparing and planning every detail out as a team - from where they stay each night (usually host families, schools, or churches) to what they eat. The 2011 team will be the 8th team to go on this journey. Their cancer-fighting group of 50 is split up into two routes, Rockies and Coastal, in order to maximize their community outreach and bring awareness about cancer prevention to as many people as they possibly can.

As Jessica Hanna, one of the riders explained

“This is more than just a bike ride. It's about spreading hope to those that have lost a loved one to cancer, sharing knowledge about cancer prevention, and gathering charity to float the amazing cancer research underway at M.D. Anderson Cancer Research Center and other institutions. In order to help improve the situation that is cancer, we must first do what we can ourselves to minimize cancer rates by spreading the word. In this way, we both make a big statement in the fight against cancer. It would be an honor to be considered to become a part of Abolish Cancer's efforts and on behalf of my team, we thank you for the opportunity!”

We encourage you to check out TEXAS4000 at www.texas4000.org and help contribute to their cause. If you would like to support TEXAS4000 through an @abolishcancer Twitterthon contact us at Bonham.Darah@Gmail.com.

“Power of the People, Through Twitter, to @abolishcancer”

Twitterthons Abolishing Cancer

We started our @abolishcancer campaign just over a year ago with the goal of raising awareness and money to do one thing...... end (abolish) cancer. Yesterday's Twitterthon with @Bradenshope demonstrated the power of people to unite for a common cause. See our previous post about yesterday's Twitterthon here....

We are always amazed at the outpouring of support (tweets and follows) that come from our Twitterthons, and yesterday was no exception. It took less than 12 hours to get 2,500 new followers of @abolishcancer which equaled $2,500 towards the @Bradenshope Foundation to fight childhood cancer. If you follow @Bradenshope on Twitter, you will see how a little boy and mom can inspire such activism to help fight childhood cancer. Yesterday's Twitterthon was funded by an anonymous donor, and we are forever thankful for her generosity.

Someone once asked us, "why don't you just give the money to the charity"? Fair question, but the purpose of the site, as referenced above, is not to just raise money but to also raise awareness. In order for us to make a dent in the battle vs cancer, and to ultimately abolish it, we must raise the level of importance among the masses. The thousands of tweets that occur due to our Twitterthons are kin to the old practices of campaigning door to door.

Twitter has created a platform for people from across the globe to connect like no other time in history. For this reason, we strongly feel that we can unite a community of cancer fighters to not only make this a priority....but a reality. Since we started over a year ago, we have raised over $43,000 for various cancer charities BY TWEETING. Our Twitter site proves that ONE person can make a difference and that a community can unite to make a difference for kids like Braden.

What's next?

We continue to connect with the hundreds of cancer charities to hopefully provide a Twitterthon to support their efforts. In order to do so, we must continue to get sponsors who are willing to donate a minimum of $2,500 for the occasion. We are also soliciting funding partners for our organization so we can expand our movement and positively affect more in the fight. If you are interested in connecting with us, send us an email at bonham.darah@gmail.com.

"Power of the People, Through Twitter, to @abolishcancer"

Today We BLAST Childhood Cancer

Another day to provide #HOPE

For every new follower today of @abolishcancer, $1 is donated to the Braden's Hope For Childhood Cancer Foundation to help fight pediatric cancers. (up to 2,500 new followers)

The Foundation is named after 6 yr old Braden (at @Bradenshope on Twitter) who has inspired us since we first met him a year ago. Braden has Neuroblastoma cancer which is a very difficult childhood cancer both for diagnosis and for treatment. Braden is a remarkable young fellow who continues to defy all odds in his fight. To add to the challenges of Braden's fight is the fact that his mom, Deliece, was also diagnosed with cancer (breast) and is fighting her way to recovery as well. At one point both mom and son were going through chemo at the same time in different locations across town.

If you want to understand more of the background of this incredible mom, son, and family click on the following link from last April that best tells the story.http://www.unitedweridekc.org/braden.html Braden also has a Caringbridge page you can follow at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/bradenh

We were fortunate to help raise awareness and $ for Braden last May when @Delprado sponsored our Twitterthon to Braden and his family. ...see older post here. Today we get a chance to continue the fight.....

Background

@abolishcancer was started in November 2009 by Darah Bonham who combined his interest in social media and charitable work to create a site that supported cancer charities. Darah created the “twitterthon” which not only raised funds for cancer charities but also created awareness through the extensive tweeting that occurs through one of his sponsored events. Twitterthons combine celebrity support, a generous sponsor, and thousands of tweeters and followers that support cancer charities in their work. Since @abolishcancer started in November of 2009, over $41,000 has been raised for various cancer charities, all BY TWEETING. @abolishcancer has been fortunate to partner with some great celebrity support for our twitterthons with individuals such as Shannon Tweed, Dina Manzo, Michael Smith, Erin Andrews, Kendra Andrews, Jeri Ryan and Alyssa Milano. It proves that so many are passionate about the need to abolish cancer no matter their age, race, income or gender. We feel at @abolishcancer that social media is providing a platform for a global community to unite in the fight to end cancer. Monday’s Twitterthon will kick off at 6 a.m. on Friday, December 27 (eastern time) and will run until @abolishcancer has received 2,500 new followers, or until midnight, whichever comes first. We start the day with 40,685 followers.

The Charity

The newly formed Braden's Hope For Childhood Cancer Foundation will educate and inform to create awareness about childhood cancers while raising funds to find treatment options for our children. Please click on the link to learn more about the organization.

#TeamOprah

Lastly, @Bradenshope along with her friend Christine @PiedPiperInKC teamed up with @Delprado and @abolishcancer to create an awareness campaign for childhood cancer, not just for Braden but for all children. The idea was to raise as much awareness on as great of a platform as possible.... so became the idea of #TeamOprah. Christine began a Facebook page directing people to "like" the idea of getting Oprah to do a show on childhood cancer. The FB page was an instant success and grew rapidly over the first few weeks in existence. To date, over 51,000 people have supported this effort to bring childhood cancer awareness to a national level.

Please check out and support the page at http://bit.ly/d2Byb0

Today is just another opportunity to raise awareness and money for a charity doing great things in the fight to abolish cancer. Let's unite to show how important it is to end this disease. As our motto says...."Power of the People, Through Twitter, to @abolishcancer"!

Let the Tweeting begin.........

SPOTLIGHT Cancer Charity of the Day....THON

It's only fitting that our SPOTLIGHT Cancer Charity of the day focuses on one that @abolishcancer connected with at the start of 2010. @THON is the largest student-run philanthropic organization in the world and is connected with the students at Penn State University. Through their numerous events and promotions, capped off by their 48 hour dance marathon, @THON raises money in the battle versus childhood cancer. Since @THON began in 1973 they have raised an astonishing 69 million dollars in the fight.

Last January, a Penn State University Junior, @PatHowley agreed to sponsor @abolishcancer with all proceeds going towards @THON. Little did we all know of the viral explosion that would occur following.....read post from last year.

It's unselfish acts like Pat's (he ended up raising a total of $8,000 for @THON) that demonstrate the power of people to connect and make a difference. @THON embodies the spirit of uniting, and giving, for such a worthy cause. From the @THON web site, www.thon.org, here is a description of their work.....

"Welcome to THON.org, the online home of the largest student-run philanthropy in the world! The Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, affectionately referred to as THON, is excited to have you join us in our fight to conquer childhood cancer. In 1973, a small group of dedicated Penn State students held our first Dance Marathon. That year, 39 dancer couples participated and raised $2,000. Since then, THON’s presence in the Penn State community has grown exponentially. THON now has 15,000 student volunteers, 700 dancers, and has raised more than $69 million, benefiting The Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Children’s Hospital. THON is now a year-long effort that raises funds and awareness for the fight against pediatric cancer. With the support of students from all across the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and THON Alumni all around the world, we continue to make great strides towards finding a cure for all childhood cancers!"

Last year @THON raised 7.8 million dollars in the fight, here's a video recap.....

@abolishcancer was built under the assumption that "power in numbers", rather than isolation, will help us end cancer. @THON is an example of how one person, one group, one college campus, can unite the the greater good of others for a common cause.

We hope to connect with @THON for an upcoming Twitterthon, but until then..... as the @THON slogan says.....keep fighting "FTK...For The Kids".

Today's Cancer Charity SPOTLIGHT..... 46Mommas

Today's Cancer Charity SPOTLIGHT..... 46Mommas

We were fortunate to support @46Mommas through a Twitterthon last August. We are always amazed at the cancer charities who are doing so much, in so many creative ways, to help fight cancer. @46Mommas is no exception. They are a group of 46 moms of children who have fought or are fighting cancer. As they mention in the video below, they "shave for the brave"

Help support @46Mommas, another amazing cancer charity, working towards the common goal..... of abolishing cancer.

Click on the link for the @46Mommas Twitter Feed or visit their web site at www.46mommas.com

SPOTLIGHT Charity of the Day....B+

SPOTLIGHT Charity of the Day

Several months back we began following@BePositiveFdn on Twitter and were immediately drawn to their story. Sadly, we see and read too many stories of kids who are fighting cancer. The B+ story was especially heart wrenching as it explained how a seemingly healthy 14 year old boy named Andrew went from playing a sport he loved to fighting for his life. Tragically, Andrew passed away in July of 2007 but his legacy lives on in the foundation created by his father and the great work they do to support families and cancer patients.

Here is the story of Andrew as explained by his younger sister, Ali….

“January 27, 2007, our 14 year old brother & son, Andrew, played 4 soccer games helping his team win the indoor Pennsylvania state cup. 48 hours later, he was in cardiac arrest with a diagnosis of Leukemia (AML). His body went into Septic Shock. The doctors told

us Andrew wouldn't live through the night. Fortunately, he proved them wrong. Andrew underwent nearly 50 surgical procedures, experienced 4 strokes, and a brain aneurysm that forced him to be airlifted to Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia for emergency brain surgery. Andrew was never well enough to leave the hospital after his diagnosis. We were told he was the sickest child this hospital (A.I DuPont Hospital for Children which gets patients from around the world) has ever treated. The doctors told us on 4 occasions that Andrew wouldn't make it. Sadly, on the 4th time, they were right. July 14, 2007, after 167 days in the hospital, Andrew passed away in his 16-year-old sister's arms.

After his diagnosis, we found out that Andrew's blood type was B+, which we quickly turned into our motto -- to "Be Positive." After he passed away, it became the name of our Foundation in his memory, The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation.

Our Foundation works to provide financial assistance to families of critically-ill children, spread awareness of childhood cancers, and provide funding for pediatric cancer research. In just over 3 years, we have helped over 500 families in 36 states with over $350,000 of assistance. We have also funded our first research grant for $250,000. The grant has been earmarked to fund a High-Throughput Screening device, which will accelerate the drug-discovery process to develop new chemotherapy treatments and ultimately a cure for pediatric cancer.”

It’s often so hard to read the stories of kids like Andrew but it is also so inspirational at the same moment. Andrew has helped inspire a movement to fight and end this dreadful disease, once and for all.

To learn more about B+ please visitwww.BePositive.org or follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheAndrewMcDonoughBePositiveFoundation

ABOUT @abolishcancer

@abolishcancer was started in November 2009 by Darah Bonham who combined his interest in social media and charitable work to create a site that supported cancer charities. Darah created the “twitterthon” which not only raised funds for cancer charities but also created awareness through the extensive tweeting that occurs through one of his sponsored events. Twitterthons combine celebrity support, a generous sponsor, and thousands of tweeters and followers that support cancer charities in their work. Since @abolishcancer started in November of 2009, over $41,000 has been raised for various cancer charities, all BY TWEETING.

@abolishcancer has been fortunate to partner with some great celebrity support for our twitterthons with individuals such as Shannon Tweed, Dina Manzo, Michael Smith, Erin Andrews, Kendra Andrews, Jeri Ryan and Alyssa Milano. It proves that so many are passionate about the need to abolish cancer no matter their age, race, income or gender. We feel at @abolishcancer that social media is providing a platform for a global community to unite in the fight to end cancer.

If you are interested in partnering with us as a celebrity, sponsor, cancer charity, or program supporter, send us an email at bonham.darah@gmail.com

"Power of the People, Through Twitter, to @abolishcancer"!

Thank You #TeamMilano

A quick thank you to all those who made our Twitterthon with Alyssa Milano, and Delprado such a success. At the end of the day we received 4,684 new followers which equaled $4,684 for Christina Applegate's Cancer Foundation.

Another amazing day of creating awareness and $ to help support cancer charities. Since last November when we began, you have helped us raise $41,000 for various cancer charities....all by Tweeting.

If you are affiliated with a cancer charity and want to partner or if you are a generous donor who wishes to provide support...shoot us an email at Bonham.Darah@gmail.com

"Power of the People....Through Twitter....to @abolishcancer"!

#TeamMilano Joins Forces For A Twitterthon

Today, Friday, December 17, 2010, @abolishcancer hosts another Twitterthon to support a charity in the fight to end cancer.

For every new follower today of @abolishcancer, @delprado agrees to pay $1 towards the Right Action for Women: A Christina Applegate Foundation to support women in the fight against breast cancer.

@Delprado agrees to donate up to $5,000. We are also very fortunate to team up with celebrity Alyssa Milano in our Twitterthon to assist in raising more awareness for such an important cause.

Background

@abolishcancer was started in November 2009 by Darah Bonham who combined his interest in social media and charitable work to create a site that supported cancer charities. Darah created the “twitterthon” which not only raised funds for cancer charities but also created awareness through the extensive tweeting that occurs through one of his sponsored events. Twitterthons combine celebrity support, a generous sponsor, and thousands of tweeters and followers that support cancer charities in their work. Since @abolishcancer started in November of 2009, over $36,000 has been raised for various cancer charities, all BY TWEETING.

@abolishcancer has been fortunate to partner with some great celebrity support for our twitterthons with individuals such as Shannon Tweed, Dina Manzo, Michael Smith, Erin Andrews, Kendra Andrews, Jeri Ryan and Alyssa Milano. It proves that so many are passionate about the need to abolish cancer no matter their age, race, income or gender. We feel at @abolishcancer that social media is providing a platform for a global community to unite in the fight to end cancer.

Friday’s Twitterthon

Our Twitterthon will kick off at 6 a.m. on Friday, December 17 (eastern time) and will run until @abolishcancer has received 5,000 new followers, or until midnight. Each new follower of @abolishcancer = $1 to Christina Applegate’s Foundation. We are not only grateful for @

delprado’s sponsorship of our Twitterthon but the thousands of individuals who will tweet and follow throughout the day to bring more awareness for such a great cause. Alyssa Milano has been so wonderful to assist us with some of the tweeting to get our message out and she had the following to say about the partnership…..

“I’ve been touched by the numerous stories of friends, family, and acquaintances that have been impacted by cancer. It's important that we support the charities that are doing so much to help with research to find a cure. It's time we unite to end cancer”… Alyssa Milano

The Charity

The Right Action for Women: A Christina Applegate Foundation was created by Christina Applegate in 2008 shortly after she received her breast cancer diagnosis. In partnership with the Entertainment Industry Foundation, the organization provides aid to women who are at an increased risk of breast cancer. It’s a wonderful charity and does so much in the fight vs. cancer. We encourage you to check out Christina’s charity by clicking on the link above and get involved in their work.

Our Sponsor

We also owe so much gratitude and thanks to @delprado, our sponsor. John Gallagher, the CEO of MAPA Imports, LLC has taken on social responsibility as a business owner to donate over $25,000 through our Twitterthons to support various cancer charities. Its unselfish acts such as that of John and @delprado that affirm our belief that we will one day win this battle vs cancer.

John and Mapa Imports have channeled their passions to help others through causes such as their commitment to fighting cancer, helping the children in Peru and assisting local charities in the San Francisco Bay Area. John explained his and his wife’s passion to help others like this….

“To make a long story short we both feel that helping the families/causes such as BradensHope, Project Ladybug, VT Relay, Rally4Cancer(Shannon Tweed) and others gives us a chance to further demonstrate a very basic premise that businesses fail to see: Any company be it Fortune 500 or small like ours is in the "business" to serve people. Beyond our belief of Social Responsibility, one can never turn away from others in need. " Great Deeds are accomplished by a collective Empathetic Heart without conscious expectations." Flora Chiari(my grandmother)”

We are so grateful for individuals like John Gallagher, Alyssa Milano, and Christina Applegate who prove the value in helping others outweighs any personal gains for oneself.

Today we start the day with 36,008 followers. We hope all those involved in today’s Twitterthon take it upon themselves to make abolishing cancer a priority. As we say in our slogan…. “Power of the People….Through Twitter….to @abolishcancer”!

Twitterthon to Fight Breast Cancer

A Twitterthon is coming........ what's a Twitterthon? A chance to raise awareness & $ for a cancer charity BY TWEETING.

Friday brings a great opportunity to combine celebrity support, a great sponsor, and thousands of followers and tweeters to fight breast cancer. Check back Friday for details.....

....It's gonna be AWESOME!!!!!!

Send Us Your @AbolishCancer Pics

We are about to roll out an opportunity for cancer charities and cancer fighters to tell their stories on @abolishcancer. In order to promote this we are creating a brief promo video explaining our efforts. That's where U come in!

We need pictures from you. Take a picture of you or a friend displaying the @abolishcancer logo. We'll take ones that you provide and incorporate into our video promotion. No real rules about what you can send except they must show a person or people with our logo, and, of course, they must be appropriate for our cause.

So...get creative. For best results send us your pics via email Bonham.Darah@gmail.com or through a tweet.

"Power of the People, Through Twitter, to @abolishcancer"!