Jerry and Amy...Advise us, please....For sponsoring you for the fund-raising walks, is it better to send you a personal check, so that you can know how much you personally have collected? I know that it all goes to the OCF and is tax deductible in the same way. Can donations on this site be assigned to one of you walkers?

Amy....how about jumping back in here and telling people how they can sponsor you too.

Jerry, I am not sure I can make the NY Walk this year....I will sponsor you and Amy either way. Thanks so much! Carol

I recall Brian saying you can designate your
on- line donation to any participant you would like. He said there was a empty box that you could fill in with who you would like your payment to be credited to while you are going through the payment process.
It's there, I used it last night. It was called comments or po or reference number.

Hi all,

I wasn't aware of the option of charging the donation and specifing the participant. This may be new this year and it is a great idea.

I will hand in all the checks that I get at the walk and I guess I'll find out then how the on-line charging thing works.

Any way you do it, the money goes to OCF and that's the important thing. They do total up the amounts by participant and announce them at the event. So I'm sure they will include the credit card ones, too. Other organizations that I have donated to on-line by credit card, eg MS, send the participant an email when someone donates in their name so they will know. As of now, I don't think that will happen here. I am also not aware of any way to check the donations on the website. Brian, if it's possible, please let me know.

I do make it a priority to thank each and every sponsor, either by email or snail mail. I prefer not doing it on the forum for obvious reasons.

However, since you have mentioned it here, THANKS Mike for supporting me and the OCF.

Carol,

I was hoping we would get to meet this year. Please let me know if can work as we closer to the date.

August,

Thanks for the rousing support and all that you do on this forum. You have been a terrific participant and your willingness to share all that you have been through as well as the knowledge that you have accumulated, has helped so many.

Jerry

A week before the event I will post here the sponsorships that we have received. So far most of the online purchases have been for participants. There have only been a couple of sponsorships of other walkers. I would keep some on going posting for people, but it's a time issue which I don't have an abundance of. But the sonsorships will get tallied from us and sent to the people at NYU to be included in the final talley sorted by individual.

Brian,

Thanks for updating us on how this works. I look forward to getting the opportunity to personally thank those that have contributed in my name.

As always, thanks for all that you do.

Jerry

Jerry - I thank you and others who have expressed similar kind words and sentiments on the boards re my efforts. But they are largely misplaced. This has been a rough week. I lost two more friends to SCC this week. It has been 6 years of undiverted time and money, mostly 7 days a week - lectures at scientific symposiums from the World Health Organization international meeting to the International Academy of Dental Research, TV appearances, countless newspaper article interviews. I have spent my time networking inside the NIH and on the Oral Cancer Work Group at the CDC, to name just a couple forums, year after year trying to convince those in power to create change. Guest editorials in dental journals, and testifying at congressional appropriations committees attempting to call others in positions of power to action or provide the public funding that would stem the tide of deaths. The message and the mission are the same- it will work, and our science advisors agree; early detection saves lives. But I am not saving them. For all the avenues that I try, I cannot even put my finger in the dike to slow the flow. An 11% increase in incidence rate since I started, and a proportional likely increase in the death rate. I appreciate the thanks, but it would seem that for all that is being done, more needs to be done, and the funding and manpower to do it in force never seems to be there - though the direction and possibilities are well defined that will make a difference.

The people that participate in this board, and support each other with quality information at least ease the burdens of those that come to OCF are the people deserving of real thanks. They post here or extend themselves in spreading the word outside the realm of the world of the web, such as at the NYU event, offering themselves freely in service to others. People who make a difference one person at a time. After all this, I can only take a small amount of credit for creating a place for that to occur, and the rest of you here have done the heavy lifting. It would seem I cannot even help my closest friends. When you go to NY, I hope that you will infect those young

Brian,

No words can express the sorrow that I feel knowing that you have lost 2 friends this week. If all you did for us was to provide this website, that alone would be enough. Your words ring with frustration, anger and disappointment and I share these feeelings with you knowing so well how much you do.

Each day as I check my mail at work and at home and checks arrive, I feel good knowing that the support I am seeing from friends, relatives, colleagus and OCF members, can possibly help to lessen the financial burden that you have so selflessly undertaken.

Interestingly, just before signing on the board, I was working on some remarks that I have been asked to make during the openning ceremonies of the walk. We must be on the same wavelength as this is the last paragraph of what I plan to say:

"My message to you, especially the dental and hygiene students, is that Early Detection can save lives and you are the ones that can help to attain this goal. By doing thorough oral cancer screenings for your patients now and when you are in practice, the death rate from oral cancer can be reduced. But, this alone, is not enough. Through the OCF, I have met too many people whose dentists and hygienists did not find their cancer in its

Brian, those of us who have lost loved ones also feel your pain. Remember what we say here every day- "You are not alone". Amy

Jerry I just got on the donation site sponsored you for the NYC walk. Amy I will be sponsoring you next month. Im trying to figure out how Erik and I can come in June for the walk. We just love Chicago. What a perfect excuse to see the windy city again!!
Jennie