June WV ACS CAN Update

WV Special Session  Update on the tobacco tax:

As legislators convened for a special session in effort to resolve the budget, the tobacco tax was one of the first solutions discussed. We had some support to pass a $1 tobacco tax but not enough to get it passed.

The special session is still running and they are considering a 65 cent tobacco tax now. We will continue to ask for at least $1 increase in order to get the public health benefits of getting adults to quit smoking and preventing youth from starting.

Advocacy at RFL updates:

Please let me know if anyone needs advocacy materials for upcoming RFL events. I will ship them to you.

Remember to return any signed petitions, ACS CAN memberships or LOH to me at address below:

Juliana Frederick Curry

American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Inc.

1700 MacCorkle Ave SE Third Floor

Charleston, WV 25314

ACS CAN Clubs:

Congratulations and thank you to our 3 ACS CAN Clubs thus far!!!!

RFL of Berkeley County

RFL of Jefferson County

RFL of Wayne County

Lights of Hope:

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) will be honoring those who have been touched by cancer and remembering those lost, during the Lights of Hope ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Lights of Hope bearing the names of those touched by cancer will line the U.S. Capitol Reflecting Pool in an experience to fight back against cancer. Please consider donating and having a Light of Hope displayed to honor your loved one.

Visit https://www.fightcancer.org/lightsofhope to learn more or purchase a LOH. ( EACH LOH can count as an ACS CAN membership *)

Memorial Day Recess visits- Quality of Life legislation and WV sponsors:

The House version of the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (H.R. 3119) has 148 sponsors – including 25 on the Energy and Commerce Committee! While we will continue to ask House Members to sign onto H.R. 3119, much of our focus now turns to getting Republican cosponsors on the companion Senate bill (S. 2748).

Thus far, we have gotten Congressman McKinley and Senator Capito to sign on as cosponsors of this legislation. We will continue our efforts to to get  Representatives Jenkins and Mooney to sign on as well as Senator Manchin.

Moonshot activity and upcoming opportunity: SAVE THE DATE for JUNE 29^th!!!!!

During his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama announced the establishment of a new National Cancer Moonshot Initiative to accelerate cancer research. The initiative—led by Vice President Joe Biden—aims to make more therapies available to more patients, while also improving our ability to prevent cancer and detect it at an early stage.

Vice President Biden has recently  announced that he will be convening a National Cancer Moonshot Summit on June 29, 2016, as well as 10 regional summits that will be hosted at cancer centers across the country. ACS CAN has been working behind the scenes with the White House over the course of the last few months as they’ve been developing this plan, and our staff are on the local planning committees for each of the official regional summits.

In addition to this White House managed activity, the Vice President has called for others to join him by hosting local summits or house parties of their own. This is the first and potentially the only significant public engagement event the White House will undertake around the Moonshot.  The White House will be working hard to make sure this is a major national media event, which makes it a tremendous opportunity for ACS CAN to not only call attention to an issue that is important to all of us, but also to continue to grow and build our organization.  Please strongly consider how you might use this opportunity to advance the cause locally of increasing federal funding for cancer research, and to build your volunteer structure, strengthen relationships with partners, and better integrate with our American Cancer Society partners in health initiatives, corporate engagement, and community engagement. 

The event in DC will take place from 12pm to 4pm – June 29^th- and will feature a live stream for those who organize local events, we are in the process of planning activities around this in WV and the WV Cancer Institute has indicated interest in hosting an event! Stay tuned for specifics!