Supporters still seeing red after Komen CEO resigns
Nancy Brinker founded Susan G. Komen for the Cure in honor of her late sister.
The resignations this week of Susan G. Komen for the Cure founder/CEO Nancy Brinker, president Liz Thompson and two board members has yet to quiet public outrage that has been boiling since January.
Komen's annual multi-city 3-day, 60 mile walk is in Chicago this weekend and has shown a lesser turnout than previous years.
Komen drew public outrage earlier this year after announcing plans to stop donating to Planned Parenthood for cancer screenings. The non-profit withdrew their decision days later but the PR damage had already been done.
Brinker founded the Dallas-based organization in 1982 after losing her sister, the company's namesake, to breast cancer.
Former supporters like University of Maryland-Baltimore County sociology major Yvette Pappoe are skeptical the shift in power will benefit the foundation's reputation. Pappoe served the local Komen affiliate for three years and volunteered at the Race for the Cure in Maryland.
Reports showing how the organization spends its funds -- including Brinker's nearly half million dollar annual salary -- raised concerns over whether executives put their own comfort above the organization’s mission to find a cure for the disease that will end the lives of almost 40,000 people this year.
According to Komen's financial statements the majority of its revenue comes from contributions, grants and funds collected from affiliates and fundraising events.
The numbers discourage Pappoe from changing her mind about withdrawing her support.
“The nonsense that transpired between Komen and Planned Parenthood reassured me that my decision to stop supporting anything Komen was warranted,” Pappoe said. “I am no longer a fan of the foundation and I don't think I will be again -- their intentions seem very selfish and greedy and I will not support that.”
The 1,200 walkers that showed up early in Chicago Friday morning admitted to the Chicago Sun-Times they had more trouble this year raising money for the event but their hope that a breast cancer cure will be found remains steady.
Those that refuse to support Komen don't necessarily oppose their main objective.
“I'm all for the cause,” Pappoe said. “I just trust giving my money elsewhere.”
Lisa Maria Garza is a Summer 2012 Paste BN Collegiate Correspondent. Learn more about her here.
This story originally appeared on the Paste BN College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.