Mission Statement for the Colon Cancer Challenge Foundation

The Colon Cancer Challenge Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation registered in New York State and is listed by the Federal IRS as public charity. The Foundation is dedicated to reducing colorectal cancer incidence and death in New York and across the nation. Our mission includes:

• Increasing public awareness about colorectal cancer and its prevention.
   
  
• Encouraging early colorectal cancer screenings for all.
   
  
• Educating health care providers and the public about the importance of colorectal cancer screening.
   
  
• Supporting and conducting research into the causes of and cures for colorectal cancer.
   
  
• Supporting young scientific investigators; the Future of Colon Cancer Research
   
  
• Partnering with and supporting strategic partners in the fight against colorectal cancer including the Jay Monahan Center, the Colon Cancer Alliance, and the New York Citywide Colon Cancer Control Coalition (C5).

Colorectal Cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. The purpose of the Colon Cancer Challenge Foundation (the “Foundation”) is to raise philanthropic support in order to address the colorectal cancer (CRC) problem, a major public health challenge for our country. In order to address the CRC problem the Foundation will focus on increasing public awareness of CRC, promoting prevention and early detection, improving screening methods, patient advocacy and research into the causes of and improved treatment(s) for CRC.

A major area of research interest for the Foundation will be to advance understanding of the causes for early age of onset and hereditary CRC. This is important because individuals at risk of early age onset CRC may develop precancerous polyps and invasive CRC prior to age 50, the age at which CRC screening is generally recommended to begin. An intended goal of this research is to develop methods that can identify people at increased risk of developing CRC at a young age. This will allow health care providers to direct CRC screening and surveillance to those who need it most, regardless of age.

A major component of the Foundation’s mission is to provide support to academic surgeons, physicians and scientists, early in their careers in order to allow them to participate in translational research designed to better understand the genetics and environmental factors that contribute to CRC incidence. A key component of the translational research agenda of the Foundation will be to facilitate pairing young investigators with well established investigators at leading academic medical centers and research institutes who will serve as mentors for both their research and academic careers. In this way the Foundation intends to commit resources to growing the national pool of academic surgeons, physicians and basic scientists who will focus their academic careers on better understanding colorectal cancer in order to increase prevention, early detection and improved treatments. This agenda will be advanced by competitive awards to young investigators and or mentors as well as dedicated academic research societies such as (but not limited to) the Collaborative Group of the Americas for Inherited Colorectal Cancer, the American College of Surgeons, the Society of Surgical Oncology, the Society of University Surgeons, and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). The Foundation will also foster relationships with international societies dedicated to understanding hereditary colorectal cancer such as the International Society for the study of Gastrointestinal Hereditary Tumours (InSiGHT), the Human Variome Project, and the Human Genome Variation Society.

The Foundation’s mission will also include support of efforts to provide colorectal cancer screening to the non- and under-insured as well as support colorectal cancer patient advocacy efforts. This support will be provided through charitable donations by the Foundation to accredited, not-for-profit organizations such as the American Cancer Society, The New York Community Trust and the Colon Cancer Alliance.

The Foundation will raise funds by direct solicitation to the general public, the colorectal cancer survivor community, philanthropic foundations and corporate sponsors. The Foundation will also sponsor events, such as but not limited to, the New York Colon Cancer Challenge (The “Challenge”) in order to promote public awareness of CRC and raise funds to support the Foundation mission and goals described above. The strategic plan for the Foundation includes growth through the sponsorship of additional events like the Challenge in other major American cities; partnering when appropriate with other groups such as the New York Road Runners, the American Cancer Society, the Colon Cancer Alliance, local and national institutional leaders in health care policy and delivery.

The Colon Cancer Challenge Foundation is dedicated to addressing the CRC problem in this country and believes the mission, goals and philanthropic strategies outlined above will guide the Foundation to make ongoing, major contributions in the fight against this common, preventable but all too often, fatal disease.