Bright ideas for the workplace and community:

Throughout NBCAM's history, Program Leaders have developed many creative ways to reach women. This section provides BRIGHT IDEAS to reach women in the the workplace and in the community. Some of these ideas may work for you or inspire new thoughts. NBCAM's educational campaign, "Pass the Word," consists of communication initiatives to facilitate a woman's decision to engage in early detection of breast cancer. As program leaders, you can help women and the community understand the importance of a triad of behaviors that includes mammography screening, clinical breast exams performed by health care providers, and breast self-examination.

In the Community
It is easy to distribute materials about NBCAM to women aged 40 and older. Talk to some of the women in your target audience and ask them where they go for their health information, then place your NBCAM messages there.

Tips for Passing the Word for community planners

• Contact your local hospital or mammography facilities to find speakers who are experts in the early detection of breast cancer for your events.
• Partner with a mammography facility to make screening appointments for women while they are attending your event.
• Contact the Breast Cancer Resource Committee or the National Medical Association for information and tips on reaching African American women.
• Post information on bulletin boards at local community centers, places of worship, the library, and post office.
• Exhibit or post materials at the county fair or health fairs, which are popular in the fall.
• Take advantage of "back-to-school" shopping in August to alert mall shoppers to upcoming activities for October.
• To reach older women, work through senior centers, senior newspapers, and retirement homes.

Community Successes

• The School, Family and Community Partnership Committee of the Orchard Hills School PTA in Milford, CT sponsored a "Mom's Night Out ... An Evening Dedicated to Breast Cancer Awareness" in January 2003. A speaker, educational materials, and a mobile mammography unit made up the program. In addition, spa services were donated by local providers to top off the evening. "It's my fight, too" pins were distributed to family members and friends of people with breast cancer. This is a great way to involve men in the effort.
• A Latina Program Leader leveraged her position within her sorority to send information to all members across the country. She also posted announcements about breast cancer early detection on electronic bulletin boards and wrote an article about her mother's experience for her sorority newsletter.
• A Hopi tribe in Arizona partnered with local wellness groups to sponsor a "Walk the Hopi Mesas for Breast Cancer." In New Mexico, an exhibit displayed photos of breast cancer survivors doing their favorite "living" activities. The Elder Care Indian Health Service in Alaska Native villages incorporated breast cancer education into its usual activities.
• The health department in Sparta, NJ, partnered with beauty salons to provide customers at the salons with literature, emery boards, balloons, pink ribbons, and an educational display.
• NBCAM Program Leaders have participated in the American Cancer Society's (ACS) "Tell a Friend" campaign, organizing their telephone calling campaign for a Tuesday in October. The program involves trained volunteers who call five friends to encourage them to get a mammogram. This strategy, called "peer counseling," has proven successful because the volunteers are contacting women who are much like themselves. For more information, contact the ACS at (800) ACS-2345.
• An outreach coordinator persuaded a local hospital to donate 80 free mammograms for uninsured women in Kansas.
• The General Federation of Women's Clubs in Seward, NE, worked to raise $40,000 for a new mammography unit. They held luncheons, exhibited at the county fair, and held a tea for survivors that was announced in local newspapers.

Involve Public Officials
Public officials - mayors, governors, state legislators, and their spouses - have helped to make National Breast Cancer Awareness Month a newsworthy event. Many mayors and governors have signed proclamations for NBCAM to encourage women to seek breast cancer screening. They offered free mammograms to city employees, found funding to pay for screening for low-income women, and garnered publicity for the issue.

Tips for Passing the Word to public officials

• Allow plenty of lead time. Getting a proclamation approved and signed can be a lengthy process. Plan to make frequent follow-up phone calls.
• You will more likely get attention for your request for a public official's involvement if you invite other local cancer control organizations and prominent individuals to join you in submitting the request.
• Send your request on the letterhead of one lead organization and include the signatures of all other coalition members. Choose a single person who will be the contact to represent the group in the cover letter.
• If you are requesting that a public official sign a proclamation, include a copy of the proclamation with your letter.
• If you are requesting that a public official participate in a NBCAM event, include the date, time, location, and a brief description in your letter. Also note the names of any other invited public officials, any sponsors of the event, a general description of the audience, and the role you would like the person to play.
• Contact information for city and state officials can be found in your local telephone directory. If you wish to invite an official's spouse, call the official's office and ask for the name and address of the staff person who handles the spouse's correspondence and scheduling.
• Contact the Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation for information and tips on partnering with political representatives and their spouses.