My maternal grandmother may be responsible for my current coffee addiction. She used to let me drink a little bit of coffee – with a lot of milk – as she drank her own coffee (all day long). It was the beginning of a life long love affair, though now I drink it black, the way that nature intended. So, today when you drive by a Starbucks and wonder how they made all of their money, you can thank my grandmother.
My grandmother also had breast cancer. It eventually spread to her lungs and she died. I was with her, in her house, when it happened, when she took her last breath. I remember every thing about that day.
I’d like to think her spirit lives on – and not just through our mutual love of coffee. So, for October, in honor of my grandmother, I’m making a donation to Susan G. Komen For the Cure. I’ll donate $1 for every unique comment (meaning, not spam) on this post. You can just say hi, ask me a tax question, chat about tax policy or leave the name of someone close to you that was diagnosed with breast cancer – heck, you can even tell me how much you love the Phillies!
Of course, you can always make a donation directly. Since Susan G. Komen For the Cure is a tax exempt, 501(c)(3) organization, you can take the deduct your donation on your federal income tax return – assuming you itemize.
Susan G. Komen For the Cure has received the highest possible rating from Charity Navigator. You can review their financial statements and forms 990 here (something I always recommend when making a decision about donations).
For more information about breast cancer, be sure and check out Pink Ribbon Review.
Thanks in advance.
[Author's note: A reader pointed out that the pink may be hard to read on some screens... So in the event that you're one of those folks, the pink part reads: I'll donate $1 for every unique comment (meaning, not spam) on this post.]
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Great blog, thanks for supporting Komen!
I love this post. I’m a human resources executive and a part-time law student who hopes to focus on the tax/employment area post-law school, so I’m a loyal reader of your blog. For the past six years, and also this November, I will participate in the 60-mile 3-Day Walk for Breast Cancer, benefiting the Susan G. Komen and National Philanthropic Foundations (http://www.the3day.org). It is not too hard to walk 60 miles when you are doing it through the beautiful San Diego area, but the cause is a huge motivator as well. Keep Thinking Pink!
I love you and even though I know next to nothing about tax law, a post like this will always bring me out of the woodwork to comment.
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thank u i lost my mom last year 2 cancer think pink will help many like myself 2 know i not along in my lost thank u again 4 all the info
Sorry, I’m from Los Angeles, so you know I’ll be rooting for the Dodgers!
I go pink on my salt… I go for the packaging with pink ribbon on it when given choices.
What a great idea! I think your support of Komen is wonderful. Hopefully one day soon we can find a cure!!!!
Hi,
I had a mammogram last week and have to go back for a second look today at the hospital. So to say that I have breast cancer on the brain is putting it lightly. All I can say is here’s to hoping the breast cancer gun goes “CLICK”!!
Great idea!
Great way to contribute. Thank you for doing this.
Hi, I heard about your plan to support cancer through Susan Komen’s charity. Wonderful idea! Good luck and my compliments on your good deed!
Regards,
Mark dykeman
Several rounds of chemo, radiation, surgery and bone marrow transplant (for at-that-time experimental procedure) and 17 years later, I’m still here. I credit my daughter, who was 2 at the time of my diagnosis, for giving me the determination to survive. I hope she will never need to do the same. Thank you for doing this!
YEAH for TAXGIRL and her commitment to raising money for breast cancer research/services!
Awesome idea. Thanks for contributing to a great cause.
You go girl! Great cause, thanks for supporting!
This is awesome! A close friend is now recovering from her mastectomy, and I’ll do whatever I can to help!
My mom drinks coffee all day every day. I, however, never drink the stuff.
I think I bought into the whole “coffee stunts your growth” myth and just never got a taste for it. You see my mom, who is rather short, drinks it all the time. Her sister is quite tall and never drinks coffee.
Great blog – great cause. Go Phillies!
Matt directed me to this blog, I think this is a great thing you’re doing. *ka-ching*
Very cool!
Yes, coffee is meant to be unadulterated.
Kelly, what a great idea. I’m lucky not to have breast cancer in my family but know many women who do.
As always I am proud of my daughter who seems to have new ideas all the time, of how to help folks. It is also refreshing to me to see how she draws her family into her present day by sharing. My grandkids will some day appreciate all the stories their mom has ready to tell them.
Her mom had thyroid cancer, and along with my mother-in-law, it has a shadow over the family. Keely mom also lost a sister to breast cancer.
Great and worthy project.
Dad
I, too, remember not only that day, but the entire year and her suffering. To everyone, it’s not a pleasant way to die. Every female owes it to herself and family–get a mammogram regularly– your family will thank you! K’s MOM
I think this is a great idea. Thanks Taxgirl!
taxgirl, kudos for your commitment to helping end this terrible, tragic disease.
My mother is a breast cancer survivor. Thank you for what you are doing.
Great idea! Thanks for doing this!
Did you know you can send a text message to help cure Breast Cancer? mGive (text) ‘KOMEN’ to 90999 to donate $5 to Komen For The Cure! Spread the word!
New to the blog but now read every new post.
Hi Tax Girl. We briefly met at BlogHer and I’ve followed you via Blog and Twitter ever since. I just wanted to say this was a great idea and your generosity is inspiring!
Great idea and great cause!
Love your blog! I am a CPA with a master’s degree in taxation. My family thinks I’m crazy because I love my work. It is great to find someone else who is crazy (about taxes) too. Thanks for supporting the fight against breast cancer.
Kelly,
Cool way to think a bit out of the box and promote the message.
A quick first part, my Gram didn’t die from breast cancer, but I, too, was with her at the very end. That’s a tremendously hard thing to do, but I would not have been anywhere else in the world at that time.
So far to date, I have been very lucky to have all of these ladies survive breast cancer. It’s the internet, I’d rather not use the names.
My great-aunt- in her 80’s.
My aunt- in her mid 60’s.
My cousin’s wife – in her mid 30’s.
All above are related by marriage. Everyone of these five women, live in various locales and have widely varied lifestyles in terms of tradtionally listed risk factors, too. Only 1 falls into alot of risky behaviors we may state other than age.
Currently:
My best friends’ mom , in her early 60’s, is battling with Inflammatory breast cancer. Was told 2% of the population are this category.
And, best friend, herself- in early 40’s, is awaiting labs on her own biopsy, from last Friday.
Their Mom and Gram had breast cancer, but lived out a very long life, after that.
I remember once hearing something like 1 in 4 of the women you knew would have breast cancer. Wow. Not so here, with me. So all I can say is to be proactive with information and self-knowledge and encourage other women in your life to do the same.
Great idea! Glad I found you through Kristine’s tweet today.
I have a grandma and an aunt who are survivor’s.
I also have a friend who I met through a single parent’s Meetup group. She is in the process of fighting Breast Cancer right now. She’s a single mom with 3 kids all under the age of ten with the youngest being barely a year old.
Thanks for this post and your donations.
~ Shannon
Rock on sista’!!!!
I have 5 adult women in my family (Mom, Mom-in-law, and 3 sister-in-laws). 3 of the 5 are breast cancer survivors. It seems to be everywhere. A cure needs to be found.
Keep up the good work.
All the money for Aids, when cancer kills so many more. Paul Newman just last week.
Great idea!
I will take this opportunity to recommend http://www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org This website helps people to understand the companies that are using the pink ribbon and breast cancer awareness in order to boost sales and get goodwill. Currently they have a campaign going to encourage people to write Yoplait. Yoplait sends money to the Susan G. Koman foundation when a purchaser sends in a pink lid. Unfortunately, Yoplait uses milk form rBGH injected cows for its yogurt which has been identified as a cause of breast cancer. The site helps guide us when making purchases that are supposedly made to help breast cancer research.
Thanks guys for all of the comments! Keep ‘em coming, I appreciate it.
Oh TaxGirl! What a lovely post & memory of your grandmother. My own grandmother died of lymphoma after a long battle with breast cancer, and my mother passed last year after a 12 year battle with Alzheimers. I think of them both EVERY day & it’s the sweet memories like you’ve shared above that make me smile (my mom always drank her beloved coffee with cream – as do I). Thanks for offering to make a donation to Susan G Komen, your grandmother would be proud of you I’m sure!
Cheers, @Jasperblu
Misha -
I do hope you’ll come back and let us know the results… Fingers crossed for you!
Oxnate,
I tell my kids the same thing about soda. I drink far too much Diet Coke and am, in fact, 5′2″ so I tell them soda stunts your growth.
I have not, however, told them that Uncle Rob used to drink like 2 liters of Sundrop a day – he’s 6′.
This is too wonderful. I would have never dreamed that someone would write about these two things together. Breast cancer and taxes.
I was diagnosed with breast cancer just this past Wednesday and notified of an IRS lien on my life yesterday. (Friday, two days later)
I totally enjoyed the story with your grandma, I too have wonderful warming memories of mine.
Good luck on your goal here and THANK YOU !!!
I lost my mother on May 13 of this year this is a wonderful thing you’re doing. Kudos to you and much luck. Also I don’t do baseball but GO BLUES!!!