2008AnnualReport_web

2008 Annual Report

Our Shared Journey

Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors ensures that the Connecticut Challenge remains steadfast in pursuit of its mission,

and we thank them for their time, dedication and commitment to improving the lives of cancer survivors.

Jeffrey Keith, Chairman and Co-Founder

John Ragland, Jr., Director and Co-Founder

Matthew Vossler, Director and Chairman of the Board at Swim Across America

Survivor Advisory Board

Every organization must have experts to keep it headed in the right direction. These dedicated people are

our subject experts and our inspiration. They live cancer survivorship every day.

Scott Capozza

Peter Cutler

Michael Daly

Amy Kaplan

Daniel Kayne

Kim Kiner

Peter Lamothe

Kathleen Schif

Pat Sclafani

Sharyn Taymor

Joan Weber

John Zenie

Connecticut Challenge

860 Canal Street, 3rd Floor

Stamford, CT 06902

203-353-7690

Fax 203-621-3279

www.CTChallenge.org

Mission StatementThe Connecticut Challenge empowers cancer survivors to take control of their health by offering credible information, comprehensive resources, and a roadmap for them to lead healthier, happier, and longer lives. The Connecticut Challenge serves its mission through education, re-search grants and public health initiatives.

Contents

2 Letter from our founder

3 Letter from our executive director

4 Survivorship Clinics

6 Survivorship Research

7 Education and Outreach

8 Funding our Programs

10 Why I Ride

12 Selected Financial Information

At the CT Challenge, we believe in the power of the

individual – understanding the impact each person

can make, bringing new energy, sharing similar beliefs

and expanding our cause. We are grateful to have so

many passionate volunteers, fundraisers and medical

professionals working beside us on a shared journey to

help the underserved cancer survivor population. And

while a nurse practitioner may be listening to a patient,

a volunteer giving out food at the CT Challenge bike

event, a scientist at Yale investigating the impact of

exercise on breast cancer survivors, or a writer creat-

ing educational content for survivors, we all share the

same purpose, to provide resources for cancer survivors

so that they can avoid future medical issues and enjoy

the quality of life they deserve.

More than 25 years ago, my friends and I began our

grass roots fundraising journey after I decided to run

across the United States to raise money for cancer.

After completing this cross country run from Boston

to Los Angeles covering 3,300 miles, raising over

$1,000,000 and accompanied by a team of five trusted

friends, I realized that anything could be accomplished

regardless of the challenge. Since then we’ve founded

“Swim Across the Sound” and “Swim Across Amer-

ica”, non-profit organizations that both fund cancer

programs throughout the country. By launching the

CT Challenge in 2005, we realized that we could pave

the way for real change and challenge the medical

system to alter the way post treatment care for cancer

survivors was looked upon. Progress has been made

in this new field - survivor rates have reached 67%

and there are now 11 million survivors living in the US.

More people are surviving the disease and new drugs

and treatments are improving the quality of patient

care. Hope continues to blossom but the work is far

from complete.

Throughout our history, we have been driven by the

same passion of discovery - dreaming of new ideas,

pushing for change, taking risks, challenging ourselves,

daring to be different, defying the skeptics and looking

beyond the horizon. And that has made all the differ-

ence in the impact of our work.

We stand at the edge of a new frontier, deeply en-

trenched in shaping the field of survivorship. Today, the

word survivor, which before was never mentioned, is

now mainstream. We have made incredible advances

and attained major milestones in a brief period of

time. We now find ourselves at a fork in the road. Do

we follow the same journey, staying on the original

course? Do we continue to fund the same programs,

target similar research, and adhere to our original

path?

For the CT Challenge, the decision is crystal clear. Like

the pioneers we have always been, we will continue

to seek the truth, asking tough questions, stepping

into the unknown, following new leads. By taking this

path, we continue to discover where the needs will be

tomorrow, not just today. And in the journey ahead we

will be guided by the wisdom of what we know and

the humility of what we don’t. Our journey may lead

us down several new paths but the commitment to our

core belief remains intact. We are passionate people

with a shared purpose – seeking to make a difference

in the world.

Thank you for the ongoing support in allowing us to

improve the lives of thousands of cancer survivors.

Jeffrey Keith

President and Co-Founder

The Connecticut Challenge

Letter from our founder

Our Shared Journey

2 Connecticut Challenge

Letter from our executive director

Dear Friends

Your support in 2008 has driven the Connecticut Chal-

lenge to the most productive year in our young life and

given us the confidence to expand the scope of our

mission as we look to the future.

Consider what your support helped to achieve over the

past year:

Continued funding for the Connecticut Challenge Survivorship Clinic at Yale Can-cer Center where professionals helped over

200 people make the difficult transition from

the shaky ground of a cancer patient towards

the solid footing of a thriving cancer survivor.

This resource simply would not exist without

your support.

The CT Challenge is now the largest funder

of the HEROS Clinic at Yale University,

where experts helped set 150 of our young-

est survivors on a course for long, healthy and

happy lives.

Funding of four pilot research projects at

Yale Cancer Center on subjects ranging from

how ovarian cancer survivors transition back

into the workplace to the effectiveness of a

survivorship clinic in changing lifestyle habits

of cancer survivors.

Our grants funded the second Yale Cancer Center Survivorship Symposium,

this one focused on Psycho-Oncology.

The value of educating 250 healthcare pro-

fessionals from across the state in this critical,

but little understood, area of survivorship

cannot be understated.

The work is far from over. Our job is to help people

and there are 120,000 cancer survivors in Connecticut,

far more than we can serve through the two clinics we

support. Looking forward, we will expand our efforts

to meet and care for cancer survivors right in their local

communities. This plan is ambitious and it will take

time and money. We will need your continued help to

succeed.

On behalf of the Connecticut Challenge and the

cancer survivors we serve, thank you for your incredible

generosity, hard work and compassion in 2008. You

are changing lives.

With warmest regards,

Bob Mazzone

Executive Director

2008 Annual Report 3

In 2008 the Connecticut Challenge extended its commitment to survivorship by funding programs across the

State. In addition to the Connecticut Challenge Survivorship Clinic at Yale Cancer Center, the first of its kind in

Connecticut, and the HEROS Clinic at Yale University, the Connecticut Challenge provided grants to support new

survivorship programs at CT Children’s Medical Center in Hartford, St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport,

and Stamford Hospital’s Bennett Cancer Center.

CT Challenge Survivorship Clinic at Yale Cancer Center The CT Challenge Survivorship Clinic, established with a grant from the CT Challenge in 2006, helps patients

take the next step toward healthy living after their cancer treatment has completed.

The primary focus at the clinic is on the prevention, detection, and treat-

ment of complications resulting from cancer treatment. Survivors are

evaluated by a team that includes an oncologist, a nurse practitioner, a

nutritionist, a physical therapist, and a social worker. They are guided

through the program by the program coordinator, APRN, or a volunteer

throughout their visit and follow-up consultations.

The clinic staff provides guidance and direction to empower cancer survivors to take steps to maximize their

health and quality of life following their cancer treatment.

HEROSHealth, Education, Research & Outcomes for Survivors of Childhood Cancers

The HEROS Clinic, opened at Yale in 2003, was the first clinic in Connecticut

devoted to survivors of childhood cancer. The clinic was developed for individuals

who have survived childhood cancer for more than three years, and focuses on

the prevention, detection and treatment of complications from cancer treatment

in childhood. The clinic provides education and guidance to empower survivors

to take steps toward maximizing their health, quality of life, and longevity.


Survivorship Clinics

“The HEROS Clinic was a light in the dark. Once they helped me understand my risks, and more importantly, what I could do to mitigate them - I felt empowered. It was such a relief to finally have someplace to turn with my questions.” Kelly, Naugatuck

Carol, breast cancer and cholangiocarcinoma survivor

REACH for the STARS Survivorship Program at Connecticut Children’s Medical CenterREACH: research, education, advocacy, continued life and healthSTARS: Survivors Tackling All Roadblocks

The REACH for the STARS Survivorship Program at the Connecticut Children’s

Medical Center is designed to provide guidance and ongoing support to pediatric

cancer survivors in an effort to help them improve and maintain a high quality

and successful life. The program provides patients with comprehensive summa-

ries of all treatments they received, individualized surveillance for late effects of

treatment

Transitions: Choices in Recovery Bennett Cancer Center, Stamford Hospital

Transitions: Choices in Recovery is a post-treatment survivorship program for patients and their families. The

first of its kind in Fairfield County, participants in the Transitions program are given the tools they need to regain

energy, strength and confidence as they return to wellness.

Among Transitions’ many benefits is the ability to help patients

understand their appropriate medical follow-up. An important

aspect of this is the creation of an individual ‘Survivorship Plan’ for

each patient, outlining the patient’s diagnosis, treatment dates and

recommended follow up. This plan can then be shared with the

survivor’s primary care and any other appropriate physicians.

The Connecticut Challenge grant is targeted towards development of a special program within Transitions,

“Moving On”, which is designed to address the unique issues young adults face following a cancer diagnosis.

“Moving On” is specifically designed for patients who are 40 years and under, are single, married or married with

children, and also includes programs designed to help children and spouses of cancer survivors cope with the

impact that cancer has on a family.

St. Vincent’s Medical Center St. Vincent’s Medical Center’s new Elizabeth M. Phriem SWIM

Center for Cancer Care will open its doors in 2010 and include

a new Survivorship Center, developed in partnership with the

Connecticut Challenge.

The new St. Vincent’s Survivorship Center will provide a home for all of the support groups and services that the

SWIM Across the Sound has offered for years.


To drive improved services and financial support for survivorship care in the medical community, there is a need

for groundbreaking research that can quantify the benefits of survivorship services to patients transitioning from

active treatment to a post treatment phase in the continuum of care.

In 2008, the Connecticut Challenge provided funding to pilot four research projects at the Yale Cancer Center.

Effectiveness of a Cancer Survivorship Program Intervention in Changing Exercise and Nutrition Practices and Quality of Life of Patients After Completing Cancer Treatment

Principal Investigator: Melinda Irwin, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor, Yale School of Public Health

Brief Psychological Treatment and Internet-based Support Interventions for Childhood Cancer Survivors and their Families

Principal Investigator: Nina Kadan-Lottick, MD, MSPH

Director, HEROS Clinic at Yale University

Assessing the Return to Work Experiences of Ovarian Cancer Survivors

Principal Investigator: Sheila Santacroce, Associate Professor of Nursing

Yale University School of Nursing

Cancer Survivorship and the Promise of Peer Services

Principal Investigator: Dave Sells, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

Yale School of Medicine


Survivorship Research

Nina Kadan-Lottick, MD, MSPH, DirectorHEROS Clinic at Yale University

Melinda Irwin, PhD, MPH, Associate ProfessorYale School of Public Health

“Being a two-year survivor myself, I know the importance of what you are doing and the effect you have on us. The work you do has real substance and meaning in a world where it is becoming harder and harder to find. Again, thank you for the work you and your team are doing for us.” CT Challenge Donor

Survivorship SymposiumSurvivorship is an emerging field of practice. To advance the quality of care for survivors, the Connecticut Chal-

lenge underwrites an annual symposium for medical professionals.

The second annual Survivorship Symposium at the Yale Cancer Center, Psycho-Oncology, was held in May 2008.

The program featured Dr. Jimmie C. Holland, Chair of Psychiatric Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer

Center in New York. Dr. Holland has been central to the establishment of psycho-oncology as a medical subspe-

cialty that integrates the psychological, social and behavioral dimensions of cancer treatment and survivorship.

Participants learned:

to identify family problems resulting from cancer;

to make appropriate treatment recommendations and referrals;

to describe the diagnosis and treatment of depression in cancer survivors;

and to describe the management of pain and other symptoms including cognitive dysfunction

in cancer survivors.

Survivors DayTo help survivors cope with and understand the full spectrum of issues they face as cancer survivors,

the Connecticut Challenge supports events that both educate and celebrate Survivors.

In May, The CT Challenge Survivorship Clinic hosted Survivors Day at the Yale Cancer Center.

An annual celebration of life for cancer survivors

A free event open to all cancer survivors and families

Guest speakers, lunch and several workshops on cancer survivorship

Education and Outreach


Connecticut Challenge Cycling for Cancer Survivors 2008The Connecticut Challenge’s marquee fundraising event is the Annual CT Challenge Charity Bike Ride.

Each year in July, committed people – our riders and volunteers – come together with a singular purpose and

show that a committed group of individuals can do remarkable things. Funds raised support the survivorship

programs of the Connecticut Challenge, including survivorship clinics, programs, and research.

From the start at the historic Greenfield Hill Church in Fairfield, Connecticut, riders depart on either 12, 25, 50,

or 100 mile rides, passing through as many as 14 beautiful western Connecticut towns and returning back to

Greenfield Hill for their finish.

Now in its fourth year, the Connecticut Challenge is growing. Awareness of the Connecticut Challenge and the

bike ride that provides the funding to fuel our work is spreading across the state.

429 riders representing forty-eight Connecticut towns and eleven states took part in the ride this year,

along with 174 volunteers from 45 Connecticut towns and 4 states.

$675,000 was raised in donations.


Funding Our Programs

“My CT Challenge experience was very emotional, very meaningful. I didn’t make it halfway through the Honor Flag gauntlet before I was sobbing on my bicycle, trying to breath enough to make the final stretch.” CT Challenge Donor

2008 Connecticut Challenge Golf Outing Honoring Robert A. WelkeGolfing for cancer research and survivors

In October, people laid down their bikes and picked up their drivers for our first golf tournament, held at the

stunning, oceanside Country Club of Fairfield.

In the future, the Connecticut Challenge will create more ways for people of all ages and interests to support

cancer survivors.


The very hill that riders of the CT Challenge are going to pass over this year, may have in fact saved my life on a ride two years ago.

It was after a bike ride with my wife and children in Greenfield Hill that I noticed I was unusually

winded and unable to keep up with my family. This was the impetus that prompted me to get a

physical, the very one that diagnosed me ultimately with colon cancer. At the time I was 38, had

two children ages 2 and 4 and a beautiful wife. I was busy building my career, my family and my

life. I didn’t have time to feel tired or sick, but who wasn’t tired with all of those responsibilities. It

wasn’t until I couldn’t physically pedal up Bronson Road that I decided to investigate.

Since that ride it has been a long road for me; a diagnosis of colon cancer, surgery, a week in a

coma, 6 months of chemotherapy. Since ending my treatment it has been a year and currently I am

without any trace of cancer.

This year I will ride in the CT Challenge because I can! I will ride to raise money for a very noble

cause, The Survivorship Clinic at Yale Cancer Center, I will ride for my mother, a cancer survivor. I

will ride for my friends that have been diagnosed with cancer. I will ride for the support of all of

my friends and family who helped me in my battle and for everyone who has been touched by this

horrible disease. I will ride to create awareness and to create solidarity for the cancer survivor com-

munity. Cancer, for the first time ever, has declined for the second year in a row. I will ride to keep

that statistic going!

But mostly I will ride for the future. I will ride for the promise of better cures, better treatment, better awareness and for someday I hope, a cure.

This year when I ride up the hill on Bronson Road as the captain of Team Noble Cause, along with

the hundreds of riders in the CT Challenge, I will remember my ride two years ago. This time I will

know that the road AND the ride are going to make a difference!

Peter Cutler - Fairfield, CT

Why I Ride


Peter Cutler, survivor

“Maybe it was the feeling of compassion and respect that was in the air and the coming together of so many people for one simple rea-son, but it gave me goose-bumps, a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes.”

“I look forward to partici-pating again and again and again because not only is the event a worthy one, but the people are some of the best I’ve come across in a long time. Cheers to all who crossed any finish line...12, 50, 100 or a grueling round of chemo...we’re all in this together and we’re all win-ners when we keep smiling and cheering each other on.”

“WHAT A DAY!! I felt SO good when I finished that ride. And to have my Mom, standing there waiting for me was awesome. In 2003, she had an “orange sized” tumor removed from her head. She is happy, healthy & a SURVI-VOR. She was my sole inspira-tion for my ride.”


Christina, ovarian cancer survivor

Ted, throat cancer survivor

Kim, breast cancer survivor

The Connecticut Challenge is committed to making a real difference in the lives of cancer survivors. As part of our

commitment, we continue to monitor our costs dedicating as much money as we can to program services. By rely-

ing on a team of volunteers and keeping administrative and fundraising expenses low, the Connecticut Challenge is

committed to invest $515,000 in grants and program services related to cancer survivorship through public health,

education and research.

Consolidated statement of financial position:

For the fiscal year ending December 31, 2008, the Connecticut Challenge recognized more than $835,216 in

revenues to support cancer survivors, thanks to the dedication of riders, volunteers and staff who helped raise this

money through the CTC’s marquee charity bike event and numerous individual donors. Because of the hard work of

all our friends and family we were able to spend 85 cents of every dollar raised on program services.

Consolidated statement of activities:

Selected Financial Information

As of December 31, 2007 and 2008 2007 2008

Assets

Cash and investments $ 632,196 $ 510,530

Receivables $ 32,868 $ 95,009

Prepaid expenses $ 3,679 $ 36,055

Total assets $ 668,743 $ 641,594

Liabilities

Accounts payable and accrued expenses $ 5,099 $ 17,371

Grants payable $ 560,000 $ 365,000

Total liabilities $ 565,099 $ 382,371

Total net assets $ 103,644 $ 259,223

Total liabilities and net assets $ 668,743 $ 641,594

In February 2009, the Board Of Directors elected to set aside $150,000 for development of special educational content and programming to serve the organization’s mission to help the largest number of cancer survivors possible, including those who may not visit one of the CT Challenge-sponsored, hospital-based survivor programs.

As of December 31, 2007 and 2008 2007 2008

Public support and revenue:

Contributions:

Riders and general donations $ 722,972 $ 681,085

Foundation contributions $ 11,000 $ 21,000

Corporate sponsorships $ 81,000 $ 59,598

Special fundraising events $ – $ 6,500

Other:

Rider registration fees $ 29,514 $ 64,997

Interest income $ 5,314 $ 2,036

Total public support $ 849,800 $ 835,216

Expenses:

Program Services & grants $ 692,840 $ 712,129

Fundraising $ 26,464 $ 29,135

General & administrative $ 89,546 $ 88,373

Total expenses $ 808,850 $ 829,637

Change in unrestricted net assets $ 40,950 $ 5,579


Corporate SupportersBMW of Bridgeport

Williams Trading

Oakley

Patagonia

Norse House, Stratton, VT

SuppliersGatorade

Great Cakes

Life is Good

Imagemark, LLC

Nej

Nestle Waters

The Pantry

BenefactorsJennifer and Chris Bartlett

Marybeth and Mark Brostowski

Challenge America Foundation

Google Foundation

Dudley and John Macfarlane

Deborah and Jim Walker

Robert A. Welke Cancer Research Foundation

FriendsDon Allman

AMR Ambulance

Bagel King

Bear Naked

A.E. Betteridge

Brooks Community Newspapers

Cablevision

Cell-nique

Ciclismo Classico

CT Ice and Coal

Cynthia Backlund

Connecticut Coast Cycling

Connecticut Hedge Fund Assn.

Darien Playhouse

ERA Select Homes

Fairfield Community Theater

Fairfield Country Day School

Fairfield Police Department

Fairfield Preparatory School

Fairfield Prep Boys Cross Country Team

Town of Fairfield

4th Row Films

Greenfield Hill Congregational Church

Hands on Pottery

Harvard Club of Southern Connecticut

Initial Ideas

Talo Kawasaki

Life is Good

Charlie Lomnitzer

Metro Sports Magazine

M & M Marketing

Metro Sports Magazine

M & M Marketing/Super Coups

People’s United Bank

Pfizer

Signature Cycles

Sound Cycles

Sound Cylists

Stew Leonards

Larry Thompson

Unity Security

Wade’s Dairy

Westfair Fish & Chips

Westfair TV

Westport Police Department

William B. Meyer Moving & Storage

Yale Cancer Center

Special Thanks

Connecticut Challenge • 860 Canal Street, 3rd Floor • Stamford, CT 06902 • 203-353-7690 • Fax 203-621-3279

www.CTChallenge.org

2008AnnualReport_web

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