Chain letter raises money and eyebrows at hospital
Chain letter raises money and eyebrows at hospital
Barbara Walters didn’t send in her $10, but plenty of other celebrities answered the chain letter that raised more than $250,000 for the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center’s home care program for terminally ill patients.
The fundraiser mailing list reads like an Academy Awards presenters’ lineup Elizabeth Taylor, Gregory Peck, Lauren Bacall, Sidney Lumet, Katie Couric, Peter Jennings, Mike Nichols, Elaine May, Steve Martin, Lorne Michaels, and Carly Simon to name a few. ot all contributed, but most did. Yet, officials at Sloan-Kettering haven’t exactly danced with excitement.
Officials say the letter, which was sent by volunteer nurse and fundraiser Carol Farkas, was not authorized by any official at the hospital. The administration has gone even further, describing the letter as tasteless and unbecoming to Sloan-Kettering’s reputation.
However, Sloan-Kettering plans to keep the money.
So far, more than 14,500 checks have been received, Sloan-Kettering officials say.
For her part, Farkas is thrilled. At a news conference in April, she said, "This is great. The more publicity, the more people become aware of the program."
She estimates that the program assists 3,000 terminally ill cancer patients a year. It was begun 19 years ago when Farkas started as a volunteer.
Apparently, the letter does not violate U.S. Postal regulations. A spokesman for the Postal Inspection Service says chain letters are illegal if they promise things like grand-prize drawings for money, require a fee to participate, or imply the contributor can win something for a small gamble.
Farkas’ letter, the spokesman says, did none of those things.
So, all you VNAs out there pay attention. But run any fundraising ideas by your legal department.
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