Press Releases

ATLANTA 2009/05/07 -As the official sponsor of birthdays, the American Cancer Society has created a new online presence that includes interactive and social media tools to create a world with less cancer and more birthdays. This includes a new Web site (www.morebirthdays.com), Facebook application and blog (officialbirthdayblog.com) that are cornerstones of the Society’s recently launched “Official Sponsor Of Birthdays” brand campaign and allow people to join the movement for more birthdays.

“To most people, birthdays are just a reminder that they’re getting older, but at the American Cancer Society, birthdays mean progress against a disease that has taken too much. We’re proud that we have contributed to a 15 percent decrease in the cancer death rate since the 1990’s. In recent years, nearly 100,000 more people are celebrating birthdays annually,” said Terry Music, chief mission delivery officer, American Cancer Society. “MoreBirthdays.com, officialbirthdayblog.com and our new Facebook application are key components of the Society’s efforts to engage with people in a discussion about cancer through something we all have in common – birthdays. We want as many people as possible to join our movement for more birthdays to help us create a world where cancer never steals another year from anyone’s life.”

The American Cancer Society invites everyone to join the movement to create a world with less cancer and more birthdays by visiting and using the following new Web tools:

MoreBirthdays.com is a new Web site designed to build a grassroots movement that inspires people to help the Society create a world with less cancer and more birthdays. The first step a visitor can take is to declare the American Cancer Society the official sponsor of their birthday and then invite friends and family to do the same. People can also help build the movement by spreading the word through e-cards, downloading a “how-to” birthday kit and other promotional items and creating a personal birthday fundraising Web page that asks people for donations to fight cancer in lieu of birthday gifts. Since the campaign launched on April 20, more than 29,046 people have declared the American Cancer Society the official sponsor of their birthday.

The More Birthdays Facebook application allows birthday advocates to show their support for a world with more birthdays by placing the application on their profile page, donating their birthday status to the movement and asking Facebook friends to donate to the American Cancer Society on their birthday in lieu of gifts. Users can also declare the American Cancer Society the official sponsor of their birthday through the application. In the first week following the campaign launch, more than 6,100 people on Facebook declared the American Cancer Society the official sponsor of their birthday.

The officalbirthdayblog.com features up-to-date information on all things birthday. The blog has tips for fun and healthy party planning, celebrity birthday information and useful information for how to celebrate more birthdays. Visitors can also share their birthday stories and leave inspiring messages about why creating a world with more birthdays is important.

In addition to the online properties, “The Official Sponsor Of Birthdays” campaign features a national advertising buy and a significant public relations effort. It highlights all of the ways the American Cancer Society saves lives by helping people stay well, helping people get well, by finding cures and fighting back.

About the American Cancer Society

The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end cancer for good. As a global grassroots force of three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping you stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early, helping you get well by being there for you during and after a diagnosis, by finding cures through groundbreaking discovery and fighting back through public policy. As the nation’s largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing about $3.4 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, more than 11 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call us any time, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.