Carolyn

My name is Carolyn Jacobson and the organization I head up, Cervical Cancer Prevention Works (CCPW) (www.cluw.org/cervcancer.html), has been partnering with T&F on numerous projects since each was created in 2005.

CCPW focuses on reaching unions (particularly the more than 6.9 million working women who are union members) with the messages that cervical cancer is close to 100% preventable and how to prevent it. Over 90 percent of union members have health insurance, with most union health plans covering the technologies that can prevent cervical cancer.

Housed at the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW, www.cluw.org) the only national organization representing union women, CCPW uses its communications’ structure, as well as those in the larger labor movement to get out its messages. Although our primary focus is on union women, we also aim to reach male union members, as all of them have women in their lives – many of those women are covered by their health plans – and we know that once they understand where HPV comes from and that cervical cancer is preventable, they are great at getting our messages out.

T&F and CCPW has a special connection, as Tamika is chair for her union, AFSCME Local 2091, District Council 20 in Washington, DC, which creates a close and cooperative working relationship for the two organizations.

For instance, at all the T&F Walks, the unions have come through with large delegations of members, including a regular bus load from a sister AFSCME local in New York City (it all goes back to Tamika being part of a CCPW training program for that union and they fell in love with her); CCPW features Tamika and T&F in its materials (see attached magazine article, which has been picked up widely throughout the labor movement); and each organization has featured representatives of the other at its programs (most recently, a T&F board member was the discussion leader at a CLUW Cervical Cancer Mother-Daughter Luncheon in Harrisburg, PA. Also CCPW shows the Say-Something DVD (www.say-something.org), produced by Tamika, at almost all of its programs and CCPW works closely with T&F on the Pearl of Wisdom Campaign (www.pearlofwisdom.us), an international cervical cancer awareness campaign, as T&F is the lead U.S. campaign partner.

I am proud to be not only Tamika’s friend and union sister, but a proud cervical cancer fighter!

In Solidarity,

Carolyn
cjacobson@cluw.org