What YOU Can Do on LIVESTRONG® Day

What will I be doing on LIVESTRONG® Day 2007 (May 16, 2007)? Judging from the video below, I will be standing with a group of about two hundred people wearing yellow t-shirts (I TOLD you free T-shirts) behind Lance Armstrong who will be at a podium speaking with great intent, the Capitol rotunda visible in the background. Amen.

Now I must apologize to Mic, because I was to include the following video in the post that announced our www.WeMustAct.org site launch. Whoops. But here is is NOW:

The link for this song is also in my sidebar. ALL proceeds from the its sale (through iTunes) go to benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation. I know it's not expensive, but those dollars add up. And in case you didn't know, you can "gift" songs on iTunes. There's a little button below the "Buy Album" button that says "Gift This Music"; you pay, and someone else gets the credit to download it (I believe that's how it works).

Okay - back to LIVESTRONG® Day 2007. Provided on the Lance Armstrong Foundation website are some great ideas for events that you could promote locally in order to honour LIVESTRONG® Day 2007.

LIVESTRONG Day Local Event Ideas

Below are several ideas for LIVESTRONG Day events and activities to implement in your local community on Wednesday, May 16, to help make cancer a national priority.

1. Wear yellow on LIVESTRONG Day and encourage your friends, family, neighbors and co-workers to do the same. Official LIVESTRONG clothing and merchandise can be purchased online at www.store-laf.org. Proceeds from the LIVESTRONG Store benefit the LAF.


2. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper about the issues cancer survivors face and the need to make cancer a national priority.


3. Ask people to stand with Lance and sign a petition to help make cancer a national priority. (Additional materials will be provided to incorporate this activity into your event.)


4. Gather a group and deliver LIVESTRONG wristbands to elected officials in your local community and educate them about cancer survivorship issues.


5. Hold a candlelight vigil in honor of cancer survivors in your local community.


6. Have a local priest, minister or rabbi hold a survivorship spiritual ceremony at a local place of worship.


7. Organize a group to volunteer at your local cancer hospital/clinic or other cancer-related organization.


8. Hold a cancer survivorship rally at a local park, your state capitol or other municipal building.


9. Coordinate a parade in your community honoring local cancer survivors.


10. Dedicate a local park or garden to cancer survivors.

If you have additional LIVESTRONG Day event ideas to share, send an email to livestrongday@laf.org.

There are also wonderful ideas for activities that specifically target the participation of young people:

Ideas for LIVESTRONG Day Events and Activities Involving Youth

Educators across the country inquired about LIVESTRONG Day events and activities in schools. Here are a few ideas to encourage youth participation on LIVESTRONG Day.

1. Encourage all students to wear yellow on Wednesday, May 16, as a show of support for people affected by cancer. Also encourage them to wear a LIVESTRONG wristband. Students also can create a linked wristband chain (made of yellow construction paper) to show support for local cancer survivors.


2. Have students prepare a presentation on Lance Armstrong, the mission of the LAF, and the needs of cancer survivors and their loved ones.


3. Hold a penny drive on LIVESTRONG Day and donate all proceeds to the LAF.


4. If you have a child or teacher with cancer at your school, invite a local oncology nurse or social worker to explain the cancer experience and answer questions.


5. Create a wall to pin descriptions of what LIVESTRONG means to each student. It can also be turned into a photo memory board/wall in honor of or in memory of someone with cancer.


6. Ask students to create artwork or cards that can be given to a local pediatric oncology unit or a child/teacher with cancer at the school.


7. Do a report on a book written by a cancer survivor or a book that addresses an experience with cancer. Here are some recommendations:

• LIVESTRONG: Inspirational Stories from Cancer Survivors from Diagnosis to Treatment and Beyond by the Lance Armstrong Foundation now available in the LIVESTRONG Store.
• It's Not About the Bike by Lance Armstrong and Sally Jenkins
• Every Second Counts by Lance Armstrong and Sally Jenkins
• Here and Now: inspiring Stories of Cancer Survivors by Elena Dorfman and Heidi Schultz Adams
• No Boundaries: A Cancer Surgeon's Odyssey by LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr. M.D.
• Voices from the Edge by Michael Hays Samuelson
• The Link to Beating Cancer: The Real Life story of a teenage cancer survivor by John Link

These things are not difficult. Last LIVESTRONG® Day, in addition to "Blogging Against Cancer," I handed out LIVESTRONG® wristbands to completely random strangers as I ran errands. Some of them put them right on and seemed genuinely touched. Others seemed a little confused, but I did my best to explain. It was worth it.

IMPORTANT: If you want a LIVESTRONG® wristband BUY IT FROM AN AUTHORIZED SOURCE. Right now, I believe that is ONLY through the LIVESTRONG Store. Nike held an approved campaign during which they donated one million dollars to the Lance Armstrong Foundation and raised an additional five million through sales of wristbands at their stores. However, their website now directs people to buy them directly from the LAF. Please DO NOT buy LIVESTRONG® wristbands through any of the myriad Internet sites that sell them (usually at inflated prices). They are profiting - illegally and contemptibly - from the sale of an item that should directly benefit cancer research, cancer support, cancer treatment and cancer advocacy through the Lance Armstrong Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Believe me, I wrote many an angry letter to vendors who were selling the wristbands at a inflated price. Their response was that the money that it cost them to SUPPLY their endeavors went into the charity coffers. I countered that if they were so generous, they should donate ALL the money to the cause. I also pointed out that they were violating copyright infringement laws, etc. I scared a few. Unfortunately, there were too many wretched, greedy vendors for me to make much of a difference. So, at this point, I will merely say PLEASE purchase them through the correct channels. If you really, really want one and don't think you can afford to order some (as you buy them in batches of ten) I will GIVE you one. This is a first come, first serve offer. I will even mail them, as they are small and light.