The Susan G. Komen for the Cure's Emily Callahan
Photo: Courtesy of Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Founded in 1982 by Nancy G. Brinker in honor of her sister, Susan G. Komen for the Cure is one of the nation's largest organizations dedicated to fighting breast cancer. The nonprofit’s main fund-raiser, the 5K Race for the Cure, which first took place 25 years ago in Dallas with 800 participants, today boasts more than 120 offshoots and 1.5 million participants around the world.
The foundation's largest and most prominent event of the year is Washington's three-hour race this Saturday, which begins at 7 a.m. on the Mall in front of the National Museum of Natural History with a 45-minute presentation from Brinker and celebrities like Cynthia Nixon and Gabrielle Union. With some 50,000 participants and 1,000 volunteers, the race is part of a week of events promoting breast cancer awareness around Washington, including tomorrow night's all-pink Eve of the Race party at the Newseum, which 500 guests are slated to attend.
Susan G. Komen managing director of marketing communications Emily Callahan, who produces the race with TBA Global, spoke to us yesterday about spreading the Komen message, working with corporate sponsors, and giving back to the D.C. community.
How long have you been preparing for the National Race for the Cure?
Since this time last year. The race is really a year-round effort for us. We actually were just talking about working to get our site permit and set our date for next year.With just a few days to go, what are you working on now?
Today happens to be the deadline for turning in funds, so it’s a big day for us in terms of hitting our revenue targets. Most of the action also starts today with getting our staging up on the Mall. TBA Global is our logistics partner, and they handle pretty much everything but the PR, which is done by the Podesta Group.
The race on Saturday is the culmination of a weeklong series of events to drive buzz. It started [Wednesday] morning with a big forum on Capitol Hill with the heads of every major cancer group talking about cancer as a priority. [Today], we’ll have more than 300 people doing 400 Congressional visits to push comprehensive cancer legislation. Then, on Friday, we have a special luncheon with the Links, Incorporated [a nonprofit for African-American women] and a big opening event that night at the Newseum.
How will you reinforce the Susan G. Komen mission throughout the race?
From our perspective, we look at the race as a full experience. We see every touch point as a way to engage people with our organization. We have two priorities when we do any event, and those are to empower people with quality resources and to expand opportunities for them to get involved with Komen.
We make sure that in everything we do—the Web site, the invitations, the signage, the photos we post, and the videos we run—we reinforce the Komen story. We also want people to walk away with an empowering message about their own health.
How many sponsors are participating, and how do you coordinate their involvement?
The race series has eight sponsors. The presenting sponsor is Yoplait, and the national series sponsors are American Airlines, Coldwater Creek, Energizer, Ford Motor Company, Fuze Beverage, New Balance, and Ultra Quilted Northern.
For the race, we have a dedicated area for sponsors on the Mall where people can come by and engage with them. Some play games, some have photo booths, and some give away products, like Fuze and Yoplait. Energizer has a mobile vehicle that’s kind of a relaxation area, providing massages, manicures, and pedicures.
We also make sure a lot of our sponsors have a speaking role for the main stage at the event, and that they’re included on all of our signage and on our Web site. We hold a special place for them on our T-shirts, since our shirts are our walking billboards.
Are there any changes to this year's event?
We’re making a couple of announcements on race day. One is that next year we’re going to rename the event from the Susan G. Komen National Race for the Cure to the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure. We want to make sure people understand that Komen is a global organization.
What were some of the foundation's goals for this year's race?
We're trying to hit the $4 million mark. Last year we ended up investing $3.3 million into breast cancer and health programs in the D.C. area, and that’s really important to us. One of the reasons why this event is so critical as our signature event is that it draws a lot of attention nationally and globally. The other reason is that Washington has one of the highest breast cancer mortality rates in the country. It's a big deal for us to put money back into the local community.
The foundation's largest and most prominent event of the year is Washington's three-hour race this Saturday, which begins at 7 a.m. on the Mall in front of the National Museum of Natural History with a 45-minute presentation from Brinker and celebrities like Cynthia Nixon and Gabrielle Union. With some 50,000 participants and 1,000 volunteers, the race is part of a week of events promoting breast cancer awareness around Washington, including tomorrow night's all-pink Eve of the Race party at the Newseum, which 500 guests are slated to attend.
Susan G. Komen managing director of marketing communications Emily Callahan, who produces the race with TBA Global, spoke to us yesterday about spreading the Komen message, working with corporate sponsors, and giving back to the D.C. community.
How long have you been preparing for the National Race for the Cure?
Since this time last year. The race is really a year-round effort for us. We actually were just talking about working to get our site permit and set our date for next year.With just a few days to go, what are you working on now?
Today happens to be the deadline for turning in funds, so it’s a big day for us in terms of hitting our revenue targets. Most of the action also starts today with getting our staging up on the Mall. TBA Global is our logistics partner, and they handle pretty much everything but the PR, which is done by the Podesta Group.
The race on Saturday is the culmination of a weeklong series of events to drive buzz. It started [Wednesday] morning with a big forum on Capitol Hill with the heads of every major cancer group talking about cancer as a priority. [Today], we’ll have more than 300 people doing 400 Congressional visits to push comprehensive cancer legislation. Then, on Friday, we have a special luncheon with the Links, Incorporated [a nonprofit for African-American women] and a big opening event that night at the Newseum.
How will you reinforce the Susan G. Komen mission throughout the race?
From our perspective, we look at the race as a full experience. We see every touch point as a way to engage people with our organization. We have two priorities when we do any event, and those are to empower people with quality resources and to expand opportunities for them to get involved with Komen.
We make sure that in everything we do—the Web site, the invitations, the signage, the photos we post, and the videos we run—we reinforce the Komen story. We also want people to walk away with an empowering message about their own health.
How many sponsors are participating, and how do you coordinate their involvement?
The race series has eight sponsors. The presenting sponsor is Yoplait, and the national series sponsors are American Airlines, Coldwater Creek, Energizer, Ford Motor Company, Fuze Beverage, New Balance, and Ultra Quilted Northern.
For the race, we have a dedicated area for sponsors on the Mall where people can come by and engage with them. Some play games, some have photo booths, and some give away products, like Fuze and Yoplait. Energizer has a mobile vehicle that’s kind of a relaxation area, providing massages, manicures, and pedicures.
We also make sure a lot of our sponsors have a speaking role for the main stage at the event, and that they’re included on all of our signage and on our Web site. We hold a special place for them on our T-shirts, since our shirts are our walking billboards.
Are there any changes to this year's event?
We’re making a couple of announcements on race day. One is that next year we’re going to rename the event from the Susan G. Komen National Race for the Cure to the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure. We want to make sure people understand that Komen is a global organization.
What were some of the foundation's goals for this year's race?
We're trying to hit the $4 million mark. Last year we ended up investing $3.3 million into breast cancer and health programs in the D.C. area, and that’s really important to us. One of the reasons why this event is so critical as our signature event is that it draws a lot of attention nationally and globally. The other reason is that Washington has one of the highest breast cancer mortality rates in the country. It's a big deal for us to put money back into the local community.
