I recently returned from one of the best events ACS CAN hosts all year the State Lead Ambassador Summit. With one in every state, State Lead Ambassadors (SLAs) are ACS CAN's top ranking grassroots volunteers. They coordinate all volunteer-led work across their state. Once a year, we bring all 50 SLAs together for two days of training and networking. It's an event that exudes the power and passion of our cancer advocates. This year the summit was held in the Gateway to the West: St. Louis. On the first day, I had the opportunity to meet all 17 new SLAs joining our grassroots army this year. The energy and enthusiasm in the room was contagious and inspiring. Following our time together, the new SLAs were paired with veteran SLAs with whom they'll be able to share best practices and continue the learning process at home.
Also on the first day, we kicked off our 2012 electoral program, the largest ever in our history. Known as Cancer Votes, the national program is an effort to make cancer a priority issue in races at the federal, state and local levels. At SLA Summit, we armed our volunteers with the tools they'll need back home to make fighting cancer a national priority this election season.
When I think of all of the challenges we are facing when it comes to fighting cancer in this tough economic climate, I know that these volunteers make the most compelling case to lawmakers for making the fight against cancer a national priority. The next time the SLAs will convene in the same place at once again will be in September in Washington, D.C. for our annual Leadership Summit and Lobby Day, which draws about 600 advocates for meetings with lawmakers. The passion they showed at the SLA Summit will drive all of our efforts to fight back against this disease.
Today’s blog is one of a series of posts highlighting how ACS CAN is examining, prioritizing and pursuing policy interventions that ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to prevent, find, treat and survive cancer. Achieving health equity in communities nationwide is a cornerstone of our mission.