ACS CAN’s ability to advance our mission is grounded in the hundreds of thousands of remarkable individuals across the country who volunteer their time and skills on behalf of those impacted by cancer. Our volunteers are cancer patients, survivors, caregivers and family members who have been affected by the disease, and health care providers and researchers, who are committed to eliminating cancer as a major health problem. They are truly the heart of ACS CAN.
ACS CAN volunteers:
- Engage their elected officials through phone calls, emails, letters and face-to-face meetings.
- Speak out in their communities and the media in support of policies that help save lives from cancer.
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A major component of our success is a volunteer structure that is sophisticated, innovative and effective. ACS CAN prioritizes building a volunteer base that reflects the nation’s diverse population. Our dedicated and powerful volunteer teams support key elements of our advocacy campaigns, including grassroots mobilization, media outreach, fundraising and integrating advocacy into American Cancer Society Relay For Life®, Colleges Against Cancer®, Coaches vs. Cancer® and Making Strides Against Breast Cancer® signature programs and events.
ACS CAN’s efforts are also supported by the work of attorneys who provide specialized expertise as part of the Judicial Advocacy Initiative (JAI). Since 2008, JAI firms have donated their time and services – nearly $4 million in services by the end of 2019 – to help advance our mission to reduce the cancer burden, including representing ACS CAN as a plaintiff in tobacco control litigation, as amicus in cases related to access to care and writing regulatory comments and legislative analysis.
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Better Together Together, ACS CAN and the American Cancer Society have a powerful cancer-focused grassroots network. In 2019, ACS CAN’s Power of the Purse campaign gave American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer participants an opportunity to connect the mission of breast cancer education, treatment and research to ACS CAN’s priority of federal cancer research and prevention funding, including recruiting 6,200 new ACS CAN members. ACS CAN also integrated with American Cancer Society Relay For Life events across the country, with an emphasis on cancer research funding, and more than 8,500 people joined ACS CAN through Relay For Life events. |