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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.
4 Connecticut Challenge
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.
2008 Annual Report 5
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
6 Connecticut Challenge
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
2008 Annual Report 7
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.
8 Connecticut Challenge
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.
2008 Annual Report 9
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
10 Connecticut Challenge
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.”
2008 Annual Report 11
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
12 Connecticut Challenge
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