Jenna Morrison '06

Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition
Boston, MA

Summer 2005  

My 2005 internship for the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition (MBCC) was made possible stipends from Colby College’s Mellon Grant Foundation and an outside scholarship from the Henry David Thoreau Scholarship. The MBCC is a nonprofit organization committed to stopping the breast cancer epidemic in Massachusetts through activism, advocacy and education. The organization is focused on prevention and supports the research of its sister organization, Silent Spring Institute, which is dedicated to finding the link between breast cancer and the environment. US women have a 1 in 7 chance of developing breast cancer and about 90% of these women do not have a family history of the disease. I learned about SSI’s Cape Cod Household Exposure study which is trying to find the environmental factors that might be contributing to the 20% higher incidence of breast cancer on the Cape than any other area in Massachusetts. As a resident of Plymouth, MA (near Cape Cod) and having had five neighbors who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, I quickly became very passionate about this cause.

This summer I worked as an intern for Cheryl Osimo, the MBCC and SSI Event and Outreach Coordinator, and assisted with all the preparation for the Against the Tide Swim, Walk or Kayak fundraising events. The main focus of my internship was public relations work for these events. I emailed and called event participants to educate them about the goals of MBCC and SSI and to interview them for local newspapers. I then prepared press releases and event information for newspapers, radio and TV. I corresponded by phone and email with many reporters and editor—they can be surprisingly nice or rude. I learned about the disappointment of dealing with reporters who were too busy to care about some of the compelling stories I put together, such as a woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer at 25 years old and was swimming to help prevent more women from getting the disease. However, I had many successes and helped to get 34 feature stories and 13 press releases printed in local newspapers and was invited to be on the radio to talk about the event. I also helped organize event volunteers and helped with all preparation the day before and the day of the two Against the Tide events.

This internship taught me a lot about advocacy work. At times it was stressful working for an important organization with big goals but not enough staff or resources. Other times it was incredibly rewarding to listen and share with local communities women’s stories of triumph over this deadly disease. Unfortunately, there was also heartache and I learned how to console people who had lost their loved ones to breast cancer. One thing of which I am especially proud was helping to create the first Statewide Against the Tide Committee, which will have conference calls once a month to discuss ways to increase participation and spread the word about the events. I am pleased that I helped start this committee which will benefit the MBCC in the future. I also plan to be a member on the committee so I can continue to be part of this great organization.