mod*mom editorial :: breast cancer charities :: where's the money going?

mod*mom editorial :: breast cancer charities :: where's the money going?

a safeway stores representative contacted me to write on mod*mom about safeway raising $16 million for breast cancer research + awareness last month, partially from melissa ethridge cd sales in their 1740 stores.
i wanted to know where the money is going + responded with this email:
"thank you for the info on safeway + melissa etheridge raising funds.
as a breast cancer survivor, i'm keenly interested in this topic.
i'm also very interested in where all that money is going specifically.
can you please ask safeway where the research funds are donated to?
i'd like to include that in my post about their fundraising.
an increasing # of women, like myself, are questioning where the tremendous amount of funds raised are specifically going, when they buy "pink products" + participate in fundraising races. "research" is too vague. can they please specify some organizations + projects?"

she responded with the following excerpt from their press release:
"During the past six years, Safeway's annual breast cancer campaign has raised more than $40 million to fund major cancer research programs at major research institutions and hospitals in the North America, including the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, the University of California at San Francisco, and the University of California at Los Angeles. The company also supports information and awareness raising organizations such as Susan G. Komen Foundation and the breast cancer information website breastcancer.org "

"Safeway Inc. is a Fortune 100 company and one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America, based on sales. The company operates stores in the United States and western Canada and had annual sales of $40.2 billion in 2006."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

while safeway has added some organic produce + products in some stores,
i wish safeway would edit it's overall product selection. safeway is causing health problems with the junk they sell. they could improve the general population's health by not offering sodas, cigarettes, hormone/antibiotic laden dairy + meat products, + sugary, salty, hydrogenated, processed, artificially flavored + colored refined foods.

you can read independent ratings, reports + research on charities at
charity watchdog , give.org + charity navigator.