Jay, You comment is both correct and inaccurate. Yes the beneficiary is the American Cancer Society and a major portion goes to support its programs. 12-15% goes directly to the International Relay For Life program too.

What is more significant however is that in addition to supporting Society programs we also suppor tresearch, many many cancer breakthroughs come from Society supported researchers, 42 nobel laureates have been supported by the Society, and the Society's website http://www.cancer.org and Help Line 800.227.2345 are available to ANYONE! Statistics show nearly 40% website visitors come from outside the U.S. Healthy Living programs, medical screening guidelines and other Society initiatives supported by Relay For Life are jsut as viable to someone in Europe Asia or elsewhere!

So as I stated you are both wrong and right, but most of all you are right that EVERYONE needs to support Relay For Life of Second Life!

I stand by my comment. While the USA Relay for Life is a great program, I have seen FAR too many Australians, Germans, Canadians who donate to it alone and think their money is actually helping THEIR community.

Wouldn't you rather donate to your own countries cancer society and see new wards for Cancer Victims, research done in your country without the issues of USA control of the patents and the associated high cost to you and your family in a few years, Support Services that you, your family and your community can use?

As I said, by all means send a few Lindens to this AMERICAN charity with the thought that a tiny 12% will go to a worldwide fund (who will take their administration fees out on top) but PLEASE donate to your own countries cancer charity too.

If the American Relay for Life in Second Life was decent they would actually highlight that just 12% of the funds is distributed to the rest of the world when the bulk was actually coming from people OUTSIDE their country... but instead they pretend they are helping everyone... flags of all nations... nations that will get just a few dollars each.

Research helps everyone. It doesn't matter as much where that research is happening. If the any country found a cure, it isn't as if other countries would be denied that information.

And so many of the greatest research programs DON'T take place in America, the Guardasil Vaccine to name just one.

As I keep saying, and as people seem to keep missing, please feel free to donate to this worthy charity but don't neglect your own countries charity.

If you only have limited funds to donate though then please make a conscious decision. Don't be fooled by the SL Relay For Life into thinking that it is for your community as 88% isn't.

Let us take the whole ACS Relay For Life takings using the California figures provided by that organisation alone.

From $1,000 Million dollars only 14% was spent on research (9% was spent on administration) everything else went directly to benefit USA citizens.

So, if you donate $100 yourself to the Relay for life the grand total of $1.40 will be spent finding a cure, just a tiny bit more than the amount the directors of the charity pay themselves.

Spend $100 on your own countries cancer charity and not only is that $1.40 still spent but the remaining $98 will be spent on education, beds, detection, support IN YOUR OWN COMMUNITY.

Wow, $1.40 for research. Does that even buy a single testtube these days.

I think that this organisation in Second Life (Where the citizens of the USA are as a minority) need to highlight far more that your donations from Germany will be in the bulk providing beds for victims in another country.

Worthy yes, but they really hide the fact that they are a USA charity and will be giving the BULK of the funds to USA citizens.