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National Campus Leadership Team welcomes new members

While meeting in Kansas City, they delivered lots of supplies to our Hope Lodge

The National Campus Leadership Team (NCLT) is made up of nine student volunteers and a national Relay For Life staff partner who work to provide nationwide strategy and direction to the collegiate and high school fundraising programs, primarily through Relay For Life. The team provides support, develops resources for students and staff, and facilitates the creation of a national network of students, faculty, and staff who are committed to our mission.

The NCLT recently held their transition meeting in Kansas City and welcomed a new team of cancer-fighters, each excited to work with campus Relayers around the country. While there, they toured our Hope Lodge and donated supplies.

This year’s team has big plans to support campus Relay in new ways. To follow their progress, find them on all social media channels by searching the hashtag @campusrelay.

The team members are: MP McLaurin, co-chair, University of South Carolina; Matthew Burgess, co-chair, University of Michigan; Clare Price, volunteer support and development, University of British Columbia; Nathan Farnor, advocacy, East Tennessee State University; Maggie Buswick, youth, UMass Amherst; Jenna Capuzzo, fundraising/innovation, Northeastern University; Isabel Bayer, RFL development, The Ohio State University; KC Ward, mission integration, University of South Carolina; and Cameron Graber, website, University of Iowa. The staff partner is Mel Rogers.

Specials thanks to Eva Rodriquez, Tristen Caudle, Megha Mathur, Caroline Biondo, and Derek McCurdy (all of whom are pictured, as well) who served two years on the team. Their leadership was instrumental in campus Relay For Life helping us make our 2018 goal.

Learn more about the 2019-20 NCLT at campus.relayforlife.org and @CampusRelay.

Nominations for St. George National and Volunteer Staff Partnership awards due by May 16
The mission of the American Cancer Society cannot be sustained without the hard work of our volunteers. We take great pleasure in recognizing the efforts of our volunteers at all levels of the organization.
Do you have outstanding volunteers that go above and beyond? Are you looking for a way to recognize them? We hope your answer is yes!
Nominations are now being accepted for the St. George National Award and the Volunteer Staff Partnership Award.
Each award has specific requirements and honors a different type of volunteer, so take a few minutes to review the details of each award to determine the best fit for recognizing your volunteer.
ST. GEORGE NATIONAL AWARD
The St. George National Award program is managed by the Volunteer Engagement team and nominees are selected by the St. George National Award Task Force. Each Region including Puerto Rico submits its nominations approved for recommendation by its Regional Advisory Cabinet. Once submitted, the St. George National Award Workgroup carefully reviews each nominee's application against the specified award requirements and selects the awardees.
Each Region is asked to submit up to two nominees to the St. George National Award Workgroup for consideration.
Nomination Requirements: A volunteer must meet the following requirements to be nominated for the St. George National Award:
- Serves the Society as a leader in community mission delivery or revenue generating programs in more than one area of focus (e.g., Relay For Life, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, Gala, Research, Advocacy) for a minimum of four continuous years;
- Makes a significant impact on and contributes to the furtherance of the Society's strategic goals and mission-driven programs with demonstrated leadership progression;
- Represents the Society in a manner that advances the Society's cause and expands its community presence; and
- Demonstrates a continuing commitment to the Society through a willingness to serve.
For more information, please contact acsvolunteercare@cancer.org or reach out to your local Regional Executive Vice President.
VOLUNTEER STAFF PARTNERSHIP AWARD
The Volunteer Staff Partnership Award recognizes a volunteer and staff team that models a successful partnership to positively impact the mission of the American Cancer Society. Partnerships between volunteers and staff set us apart from other organizations. In these relationships, each partner has a different, but equally important role. These volunteer and staff teams may operate side-by-side in the community, collaborate on projects virtually, or work together across the globe.
Nomination Requirements
The volunteer staff partnership must have successfully impacted the mission of the American Cancer Society in at least two of the following ways:
- Increased community engagement
- Grown revenue
- Impact to mission outcome
- Enhance stewardship
- Increase partnerships
- Create new opportunities
Ideally, the volunteer and staff were innovative in their strategy and actionable steps can clearly be identified. Also, volunteers and staff should have worked together a minimum of one year.
One partnership will be chosen from each Region and Global Headquarters for a total of seven winners.
To submit a nomination, complete the Volunteer Staff Partnership nomination form. Please note the name, credentials, and title submitted with the application will be used on all collateral materials including the certificate.
A completed application with appropriate electronic signatures and the nominee's photo must be submitted for each nominee to Caira Turner by 3:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, May 16. If you have any questions, please contact acsvolunteercare@cancer.org.
Apr 22, 2019
- Volunteer Engagement
New cancer awareness campaign with Simone I. Smith and LL Cool J launches

On Monday, April 15, we launched a multimedia campaign called "Beat Cancer Like A Boss." It is the brainchild of cancer survivor and longtime ACS Ambassador Simone I. Smith, and her husband, rapper LL Cool J. A variety of notable celebrities are volunteering their time, including singer Mary J. Blige, Offset, Jordin Sparks, and Jhené Aiko.
Check out our TV ad!
The campaign got a fabulous boost from talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, who retweeted LL Cool J's tweet about Beat Cancer Like A Boss. She has more than 77 million followers on Twitter!
LL Cool J tweeted: #BeatCancerLikeABoss!!! Ask yourself and those around you: Are you a BOSS? What makes a BOSS? Join @simoneismith, Simone Smith Jewelry and @AmericanCancer to raise awareness and spread the message!! Go to http://Cancer.org/boss to learn more! Let’s make this dream a reality!!
Ellen retweeted it and included a link to beatcancerlikeaboss.com.
Launched during National Minority Health Month, the campaign seeks to build awareness and empower communities to join us in the fight to conquer cancer. Although the gap in the cancer mortality rate between African Americans and Caucasians has narrowed in recent decades, African Americans still bear a disproportionate amount of the cancer burden.
Promotion includes TV, radio, social media, and digital ads, as well as influencer content to help build awareness and engagement throughout April and beyond. Simone and LL Cool J made a special appearance on local Los Angeles TV show Good Day LA on Friday, April 12, to discuss Simone’s battle with cancer and build excitement around the launch of Beat Cancer Like A Boss.
The campaign was inspired by Simone’s fight with chondrosarcoma, a rare bone cancer she was diagnosed with in 2004, and encourages millions to face their biggest battles like a boss. Read more about her personal story.
What can you do?
First, visit cancer.org/boss. Here you can learn more about the campaign, watch the TV spot, and check out some celebrity “Bossisms.” Then, and most importantly, you will find a link to create your own “Bossism” by clicking on beatcancerlikeaboss.com.
We encourage everyone to create their own boss meme to post on Facebook and Instagram with the #BeatCancerLikeABoss hash tag. Then, ask your social network to do the same!
Between now and May 12, look for our ads on these networks: BET, OWN, and Bravo, and on these shows -- The Real, The Talk, Wendy Williams, and ET. Ads also will appear on Hulu and You Tube, and air on select radio stations in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.
Apr 16, 2019

Congrats to the winner of our #Fit2BeCancerFree Challenge!

On Wednesday, CEOs across the U.S. and in Puerto Rico collectively took 1,563,110 steps -- all logged on new Fitbit Versa smartwatches that were mailed to them -- and covered 718 miles in the American Cancer Society CEOs Against Cancer Fit2BeCancerFree Challenge.
The winner is Wendy Perry, managing director of Merck Puerto Rico, who logged an impressive 138,755 steps. She has been on the Top 5 Fit2BeCancerFree Leaderboard for each of the past two years. As winner, she will get to have dinner with our CEO Gary Reedy, who also participated in the challenge.
For an impressive social campaign that helped raise awareness about staying active to lower the risk of cancer, in a way that was fun, authentic, and inspirational, Rich Liekweg, CEO of BJC Healthcare and its president, Trish Lollo, took the title of “Most Socially Active.” Honorable mentions went to Steve O’Loughlin and LHM, Jim Kavanaugh and World Wide Technology, and Janette Marx and Airswift for the personal stories, images, and real-time engagement throughout the workday step challenge.
The title of “Most Employee Encouragement” went to Warner Baxter, CEO of Ameren Corporation in St Louis. Warner began his day on a treadmill in the main circle drive of the company, making Fit2BeCancerFree a launch day for a month-long employee wellness campaign called “Get Up & Go."
“Thank you everyone who participated in this fun and meaningful opportunity to inspire active lifestyles in the workplace, raising awareness about the importance of cancer prevention,” said Gary. “Once again participants raised the bar – walking to work, engaging others, and supporting a workplace culture of health and helping lead the fight against cancer. They have our deep appreciation.”
Participants were mailed a new Fitbit Versa smartwatch, with directions for setting up the Movespring app and syncing it to the live leaderboard at cancer.org/ceochallenge.
Check out #Fit2BeCancerFree on Twitter to see how executives across the country participated in the April 10 event.
This year's challenge will raise approximately $200,000, including the $2,500 registration fee from each of the 44 participants, and an employee donation campaign.
Apr 12, 2019
- Mission Delivery
- Volunteer Engagement
Still seeking testers for cool Alexa pilot!

If you are interested in joining the pilot group, sign up today or contact Tareq.Dowla@cancer.org.
Voice-powered technologies such as Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant are changing the way people shop, drive cars, and even how they receive health information. Studies have suggested that, by 2020, 50% of all searches will be conducted by voice, which represents an enormous opportunity for the American Cancer Society.
ACS will soon begin to engage consumers in this rapidly growing digital channel. In early April, the digital product team, in collaboration with Cancer Control, will launch ACS’s first Amazon Alexa skill. A skill is an app that is enabled on an Alexa device. For ACS, it will initially focus on providing ACS information to commonly asked cancer-related questions.
The goal of this pilot is to truly understand if and how consumers utilize voice-enabled technologies, specifically in the cancer space.
We want your help!
We are looking for volunteers to become beta users of our Alexa skill. We’ve built a core set of cancer topics and would love to get feedback from YOU. The pilot will last 1-2 months with an anticipated time commitment of 10-30 minutes per week. Pilot users will be asked to journal their experiences via email.
Apr 12, 2019

Sessions available to help you tell the ACS story

Do you want to polish your skills in preparation for speaking to the public, potential donors, media, and legislators about the work of the American Cancer Society?
The Sharing Our Story workshop is designed to help you craft a personalized response when asked about the work you do in your volunteer role for ACS. The workshop is led by two members of the National Volunteer Training Team in a 90-minute virtual session. The workshop also introduces you to key organizational facts that you can weave into your personal story.
The interactive course will provide you with the tools you need to write and deliver a story that conveys how you feel about the mission and work of the ACS. Sessions are available year-round through the Volunteer Learning Center. To register, simply search for Sharing Our Story when logged in. These available training sessions are open for registration now.
Thursday, April 25 – 8 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Monday, May 20 – 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Monday, June 10 – 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Saturday, June 15 – noon – 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Saturday, July 13 – noon – 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Don't have a Volunteer Learning Center account? Follow these quick steps to set one up.
If you have any questions, please contacthacsvolunteercare@cancer.org.
Apr 11, 2019
Happy Fit2BeCancerFree day! Good luck to our CEOs!

Watch the leaderboard on cancer.org to track the leading competitors. Clearly, some have been tracking their steps since early this morning!
The American Cancer Society’s Fit2BeCancerFree, a one-day, virtual step-tracking challenge led by the CEOs Against Cancer members, is taking place today, Wednesday, April 10. Tracking his steps today will be our own CEO, Gary Reedy.
This event gives executive leaders across the country the chance to highlight the importance of healthy living and physical activity by tracking their steps during the workday and by encouraging their associates to do the same.
In addition to some serious bragging rights, the Fit2BeCancerFree winner with the most steps will get to have dinner with our CEO. Participants also will be recognized for their use of social media, and how well they engaged employees and associates.
Participants were mailed a new Fitbit Versa smartwatch, with directions for setting up the Movespring app and syncing it to the live leaderboard at cancer.org/ceochallenge. They also received a social media kit, key messages and template press releases, infographics and banners, and tips for incorporating more physical activity into the workday, such as walking meetings. The leaderboard is tracking the results of the top participants throughout the day.
“Creating a world free from cancer can start in the workplace when we inspire our employees to live healthy and active lifestyles,” said Gary. “About half of cancer deaths could be prevented if everyone lived a healthy lifestyle, including not smoking and maintaining a healthy weight. The Fit2BeCancerFree challenge is designed to encourage corporate leaders to lead by example, inspiring more activity among their employees throughout their workday, and helping us make a measurable difference in saving lives from cancer.”
We currently have 13 active CEOs Against Cancer chapters nationwide with about 300 members.
Apr 10, 2019
- Fundraising
- Volunteer Engagement

ACS making an impact in Second Life community
Second Life is an online 3-D virtual world that is accessed by people around the globe
Within Second Life, the American Cancer Society serves cancer survivors and caregivers by providing a connection to NCIC via IM chat and a cancer information library by means of cancer.org. We also offer a connection to the Hope Lodge program, Personal Health Manager Kits, and wig requests, as needed.
Second Life uses the virtual world to form groups of common interest, instant message friends, hold voice conversations, and design/build digital/pixel avatars and environments.
The American Cancer Society's office within Second Life is called the American Cancer Society Island. There are two reasons people visit the ACS Island — to volunteer and to seek our help. People come from all over the word.
To connect with cancer patients and caregivers, volunteers host weekly support group meetings on the ACS Island. The support provided is like our real-life support groups that are held in a building or office except conversations are held online via a group IM chat. The private group offers emotional support and a sense of community.
"I want to say that the caregiver's support group has been a major help to me as a family member in answering some of my questions and in understanding some options my Dad may choose or not choose with tests and treatment. I have realized that some of the funding going towards support groups and spaces for these groups, as well as to research, is super important," said Eva Marie Zeppelin, a Second Life resident. "I have found this group much more helpful as a family member than counselling services paid for by my family's plan, as the group realizes the value of supportive listening and community and doesn't jump to try and put labels on the caregiver's feelings because they have pre-existing anxiety."
We do so much more! We also host a Relay For Life virtual event, a Making Strides virtual event, and house a memorial garden for avatars to remember loved ones lost. We are supported by 'Mega Events' like the Xmas Expo, Fantasy Faire, Home & Garden Expo, Sci-Fi Expo, and others.
- Relay For Life: On June 8-9, the Society will hold an online, virtual Relay For Life event for the 15th year. Second Life participants will be able to engage in typical Relay activities and can raise funds for the Society from February through July, just like any other Relay event. The goal for the 2019 Relay For Life of Second Life is to raise $250,000 USD. Currently, the event has raised more than $60,000 this year. Over the last 15 years, this event has raised a total of $3.4 million.
- Making Strides: On October 30, the Society will hold an online, virtual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event. The goal for the 2019 event is to raise $10,000 USD.
- Memorial Garden: The Memorial Garden on ACS Island is a place where a photo of someone who has lost their life to cancer (avatar or real life) can be placed in a peaceful garden. This provides an opportunity for healing and an opportunity for loved ones to return for eternal memories of their loved ones lost to cancer.
We are also having a global impact through this virtual community. In 2018, the Fantasy Faire was allowed to restrict all fundraising – $50,000 USD – from their virtual event to be used by the American Cancer Society to help construct the Kenyatta Hope Hostel in Kenya. This marked the first time that a Relay fundraiser was able to be dedicated to such a monumental global initiative. Another $20,000 USD was raised by the Xmas Expo in December 2018 to help fund the Patient Navigator Program at the Kenyatta Hope Hostel.
This is one example of how we are fighting cancer on all fronts in every community by: helping patients access the services they need, fostering cutting-edge research and breakthroughs, and advocating on behalf of cancer patients.
If you have any questions, please contact Jeffrey Montegut, senior consultant, virtual community development.
Mar 21, 2019

New Relay Rewards incentive program launches

We are excited to introduce a new incentive program for Relay For Life participants called Relay Rewards. Relay participants will be able to earn branded merchandise that recognizes their hard work and commitment by awarding them points for fundraising and for taking specific actions. The goal is to encourage more fundraising and engagement with the Society.

Each Region will be brought into the new system one-by-one, with all Regions expected to be on board by this weekend.

The new points system will have many benefits to the organization and Relay For Life volunteers, including:

Relay Rewards will build affinity and loyalty to our organization and Relay For Life.
Relay Rewards will motivate volunteers to raise more funds by not only incentivizing them to reach the next level of the program, but also to reach goals within each level of the program.
Volunteers will be rewarded for their fundraising success as well as additional actions that help to increase fundraising.
Volunteers will have the flexibility to spend their points however they wish
Volunteers can rollover any leftover points by registering for the next year's event by the end of the calendar year (Jan -Aug events). Fall event participants (Sept. – Dec.) will have until April 1 to register for the next year's event.

How does the new point system work?

The new point system is like the previous incentive program in that the program is mostly driven by individual fundraising. Volunteers earn one point for every dollar raised that is credited to their personal fundraising page on the event website. Volunteers can also earn up to 50 additional points by taking specific actions that have been determined will lead to more fundraising and engagement with the Society.

Once a volunteer has reached 250 points, the lowest point total needed to redeem for Relay Rewards, an email will be sent to the volunteer letting them know of their achievement, how to log on toShopRelayRewards.org, check their point balance, browse, redeem or earn more points in the Relay Rewards system. It's that simple!

Relay Rewards Points System and Levels

Level	Points
Bronze	250 – 499
Silver	500 – 999
Grand Club	1,000 – 1,499
Gold	1,500 – 2,499
All-Star	2,500 – 4,999
Platinum	5,000 – 7,499
Diamond	7,500 – 9,999
Purple	10,000+

Earning Points

Volunteers can earn points through fundraising and taking specific actions that strengthen their engagement with the Society and can lead to additional fundraising.

Action	Points Earned
Fundraising *must raise at least $20 to be awarded points	$1 = 1 point
Making a Self-Donation	10 Points
Accept Donation via ACS Fundraising App	15 Points
Personalize your fundraising page	10 Points
Send emails through the website dashboard *please note this does not apply to emails sent through personal email on ACS Fundraising App	15 points

Volunteer Engagement

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