Dear Friends,

I must begin by expressing my sincerest gratitude for the impact you have made on me personally and on the organization’s mission. Without your support, encouragement, and participation, VAX 2 STOP CANCER could not have built upon the momentum from our first year to flourish the way we have in our second. Like the pandemic babies born in 2020, V2SC emerged into the world at a time when the future was filled with so many questions. But just as those infants have crawled, walked, and climbed, we have dashed forward adapting to every obstacle along the way. In the blink of an eye, we are 24 months old with no signs of slowing down and plenty of milestones to celebrate from our second year:

> Expanded our flagship program, “Preventing HPV-associated Cancers through Effective Provider Education” with trainings scheduled in five new counties: Montgomery, Pike, Tuscaloosa, Lowndes, Autauga, and Calhoun where we are educating providers at pediatric and family medicine practices, county health departments, and federally qualified health centers to give an effective HPV vaccine recommendation to parents.

> Transitioned Executive Director position from part-time to full-time, hired a full-time Program and Communications Manager, renewed contracts with digital media specialist and fundraising/grant writing consultant, and continued internship program with our third intern from the UAB School of Public Health.

> Increased board membership with 3 new board members. Read about them all here.

> Created a survivor card for oncologists to distribute to their patients to encourage them to share their stories. If you know a survivor of HPV-related cancers who would like to share their story, please have them email veronica@vax2stopcancer.org

> Strengthened our social media presence by launching Twitter and LinkedIn profiles and increasing followers across all platforms, thereby amplifying the reach of our public awareness campaign. Make sure you are following us these as well as Facebook and Instagram.

> Established the publication and distribution of a quarterly e-newsletter to supporters, donors, and institutional funders.

> Collaborated with UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center and USA Mitchell Cancer Institute. Presented a webinar on V2SC at one of O'Neal CCC's Community and Outreach Engagement sessions.

> Published an op/ed in The Anniston Star and secured a feature article in the Over the Mountain Journal. 

> Accepted the invitation to become a member organization of the HPV Vaccination Roundtable, a group of non-profits across the US all working together to bring awareness to the HPV vaccine and HPV-associated cancers.

> Met our goals for donations from individuals and for grant funding. 

As we begin our third year, just as our toddler cohorts do, we look forward to new relationships, expanded opportunities, and increased uptake of vaccines that make the future brighter for us all. I'd love for you to share our work with your networks. Please forward this email to anyone you know who might be interested in the work you are supporting and encourage them sign up to receive updates on our website here.

With appreciation,

Barbara S. Schuler

Founder/Executive Director

P.S. We originally planned our first luncheon for October of 2021 but had to reschedule due to COVID. Please mark your calendars to join us April 7, 2022 at The Club. Warner K. Huh, MD, chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine and V2SC board member will be the keynote speaker. If you or your company would like to be a sponsor for the event, please email me at Barbara.Schuler5@gmail.com