Last year, Boston walkers raised 4.8 million dollars. The year before that, 4.3 million.
This year?
That's a hefty difference. And I can't help but wonder if that will be a trend for this year, fallout from Komen's fracktastic Planned Parenthood fumble.
Komen does a lot of good, regardless of the politics it (probably should not) dabbles in. It does a lot of good in spite of the bloat at the top of the Komen food chain. But the missteps...there are a whole lot of people out there, on both sides, who won't forgive Komen for the whole thing, and they're taking their money elsewhere.
I'm not walking a Komen event this year, mostly because I know the fundraising just won't happen. I am crewing in San Francisco, driving a sweep van along with DKM, but I'm doing it mostly for the walkers, in support of their efforts. My issues with Komen are mine, but I have no issues with the people who are going to be out there for 3 days, putting one sore foot in front of the other.
I won't have a problem donating to friends who are walking a Komen event this year; the royalties for Rock the Pink are starting to come in, and I fully intend to donate them to friends who are walking, whether they're walking in a Komen or an Avon walk. In this, my support is for my friends, and these walks matter to them.
But I also understand why people don't want to give Komen another dime...and I really wonder if Boston is the start of a huge drop in donations because of their political dustup. And I'm not sure how I feel about that. Part of me thinks it's their own damn fault for not handling the whole thing better and they're lucky to still have the support they do. Part of me hopes people will get past it and look to the people those funds help.
But, yeah. A whopping $1.6 million difference from last year to this year.
4 comments:
Yep - Crewing for the walkers! Well that and the walker crack.
While Planned Parenthood stepped in it, something that I am becoming increasingly aware of is how often people are judgmental about a charity because it doesn't do everything they think it should--so they won't give. At all. While many people stopped giving to Komen they also started giving elsewhere--but those that didn't and who use the PP thing as an excuse NOT to give bother me. A lot. Nothing is perfect and I want to do what I can (which is little enough) to help those who are passionate about trying to do their part to help people.
Good post Thump, thank you. I am slow to start raising $ for Dallas but I will. It will be interesting to see the effect of the "gaf" when all is said and done!
R
It is a shame that too many people will let the political side of this govern there donations.
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