A spokesman for the American Cancer Society in Iowa says the organization was able to buck the down economy and finish its fiscal year at the end of August on a positive note. Spokesman Chuck Reed says they increased fundraising by one percent in the last fiscal year.
Reed says their two biggest fundraisers, “Relay for Life” and “Daffodil Days”, were able to increase the amount of money they raised despite the weather and other factors. He says that makes them one of a couple of states in the country that can say that. Reed says they were prepared to see fundraising drop.
“We had kind of thought with the economy the way it is, and the way things are with everyone out there, that we probably were not going to be able to raise as much money,” Reed says, “but to raise more than we did last year, that speaks volumes about people’s interest in the fight against cancer.” Reed says the fundraising will allow them to keep up the money they give to research.
Reed says they are funding five-point-six-million dollars in research, with eight researchers at the University of Iowa that he says are making headway. Reed says they were also able to increase the direct help they give. He says they helped 20% more people in the fight against cancer with programs and services and opened the Hope Lodge and saw over 100 more people than they projected would stay in the first year.
Reed says they projected there would be 335 guests, but they had over 420. Reed says not only are they serving more guests, they are serving them at a higher level. He says the level of service is evident in the feedback. Reed says in August the Hope Lodge received a 100-percent satisfaction rating — the first Hope Lodge in American Cancer Society history to receive that level of rating. He says the average stay is about 33 days.
Reed says the Iowa chapter thanks all of those who contributed and volunteered in the last year to help them achieve the success. For more information about the American Cancer Society, call 1-800-227-2345 or visit visit their website here.