Mush For The Cure: The Susan G. Komen Foundation

When one thinks of a charity, what comes to mind? Most likely, an organization or a group of people that receive donations to help improve the quality of lives of others, whether it be by letting a terminal child live out their last wish, or furthering research on battling a fatal disease. Most people are simply content with living with their assumption, continuing to live on with their life after donating however much they feel necessary. They are the ones that are preyed upon by the more dishonest and misguiding charities that exist in the world. Constant phone calls, e-mails, and letters in the mail are trademark indicators of these charities. But, when nobody checks up on the charity contacting them, one can simply be content in thinking …show more content…
The Susan G. Komen Foundation, famous for raising money for breast cancer research, has a slightly darker side that your average person probably does not know about. Each year, around one million dollars in legal fees are spent because the Komen foundation vehemently seeks out any other charity or event that uses the phrase “for the cure” with a total of over 100 lawsuits filed as of 2011. Sue Prom, a woman who ran a dog sledding fundraiser for breast cancer entitled “Mush for the Cure,” was told to change the name of her event or face legal ramifications. Another woman who held a kite-flying event named “Kites for a Cure” with the proceeds going towards lung cancer research, was told that the Komen foundation owned the rights to the word “cure” in a name and was again told to change the name or face litigation. Many of these charities that are contacted are nowhere near the size of the Komen foundation and are in many cases “Mom and Pop” charities (Bassett). Obviously, donors believe that their money is going towards helping fight the battle against breast cancer, and not the battle against other harmless charities. Charities need to be as transparent as possible with their money usage. Less people would donate to a charity if they knew that a portion of their money was being used to shut down other charities. In addition, the behavior of …show more content…
People are not at fault for assuming that organizations set up to take donated money and make the world a better place would do exactly that. However, there are people in this world that exist that only care about the number of zeros that appear on their salary, and that needs to be taken into consideration. Unfortunately, the ideals of making money off of the emotions of people, whether it be over the sadness resulting from a lost loved one or the happiness that comes about from surviving a deadly disease, is deeply ingrained in many organizations, whether they be a charity or not. The premier way to help combat these selfish behaviors is to simply take the time to do research on whoever or whatever is receiving the donation to make sure that the correct people can receive the money to help make the world a better