Are all donations used as expected? This may not be true

Gillian Bressie | Staff Reporter

Sources such as Jezebel, HuffPost Impact, The New York Times, as well as many other highly regarded news sources, have recently discussed matters of the NFL Breast Cancer “Crucial Catch” Campaign. These articles have released extremely controversial information, specifically the fact that only five to eight percent of money donated to the campaign actually goes to breast cancer research.

This has potential to leave Menlo students wondering where they are actually putting their money when they make donations to such organizations. But on top of the fact that the donated money is put primarily towards things other than research, some of the information that they have given to women watching at home is simply not true.
The NFL campaign adopted the common saying “early detection is the best protection” or “early detection is key”. According to Jezebel, an online news source, while it is important that women are encouraged to get tested and make sure they are healthy, statistics show that someone’s odds of survival do not increase if it is detected earlier. Many readers found this a difficult idea to accept given that it is so far from everything constantly advertised in the media.

In regards to the campaigns proceeds donated, many readers expressed their shock due to the low numbers provided in these articles. “This seems to be the sad reality of many of these organizations. It’s quite frustrating to me that an organization as well known and credible as the NFL isn’t even a place that I would feel comfortable donating more money after this,” an anonymous freshman said.

While the numbers do appear to be astonishingly low, it is important to note that much of the purpose is to make women aware, and encourage them to get tested, which is done through commercials, posters, pink sports equipment for the players on NFL teams, and other extensive advertising efforts. Though it is shocking that more of the proceeds don’t go towards research directly, there is a benefit to the extensive advertising of the NFL Crucial Catch Campaign.