What is the Pearl of Wisdom Campaign to Prevent Cervical Cancer?

The Pearl of Wisdom Campaign to Prevent Cervical Cancer is a united, global effort to raise awareness of the opportunities now available to prevent cervical cancer. By working together, partners involved in the campaign will showcase a united front in the efforts against cervical cancer. To do this, all campaign partners will promote the Pearl of Wisdom as the global symbol of cervical cancer prevention in order to increase public recognition of the campaign in the same way the pink ribbon serves the breast cancer campaign. In addition, all campaign partners distribute simple, consistent key messages about cervical cancer to ensure our collective voices will effectively reach women. We recognize that by working together, we can more effectively increase awareness of the new means for preventing cervical cancer, encourage women to take full advantage of these methods, and advocate for the implementation of these tools for girls and women everywhere.

What does it mean to be a Campaign Partner?

As a partner, the Pearl of Wisdom Campaign to Prevent Cervical Cancer will showcase your organization’s support for saving women’s lives around the globe. Benefits to your organization include:

• Your organization’s name and logo included on the Pearl of Wisdom campaign website along with a link to your website
• Your organization’s name and logo included on appropriate campaign materials and news items
• A special ”Partners Only” Pearl of Wisdom banner/button for your website to recognize your partnership and to link your members to the Pearl of Wisdom website
• The ability to raise funds for your cervical cancer prevention activities through direct sales of the Pearl of Wisdom pin.
• The campaign will provide you with a starter set of Pearl of Wisdom pins at no charge for your organization to distribute as it sees fit.

As a partner, your organization will commit to supporting the campaign by:

1. Highlighting the Pearl of Wisdom campaign when discussing your cervical cancer prevention activities
2. Promoting the Pearl of Wisdom pin and distributing the following campaign messages to colleagues and staff, members, meeting attendees and other stakeholders
   • Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide. In the U.S., it is estimated that 11,270 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer and 4,070 will die from the disease in 2009.
   • Cervical cancer can be prevented using the Pap test, the HPV test and the HPV vaccine.
   • Working together, we can make sure that girls and women everywhere have access to these life-saving tools.
3. Sending out a communication (i.e. news release, e-blast, newsletter article) to your members, the media and other stakeholders informing them of your role as a partner organization in the campaign
4. Encouraging your members and supporters to support the campaign through purchase of a pin, wearing the pin, sending a virtual pin, and sharing information with their colleagues and loved ones. (All proceeds go to the U.S. Pearl of Wisdom Campaign Fund to support cervical cancer prevention activities.)

Our cervical cancer messages are different from those of the Pearl of Wisdom Campaign. Can we just use our own when we distribute the pins?

Your organization is welcome to include additional messages that are specific to your constituents and programs when communicating about the Pearl of Wisdom campaign. It is important, though, to also communicate the core set of common messages so that each of our campaigns will support the others and ensure our collective voices will effectively reach out to women.

Can any group become a partner – even if we haven’t been involved previously with cervical cancer?

Yes, provided that you agree to support the campaign as outlined above.

If a partner wants to give or sell large quantities of the Pearl of Wisdom pin to others, do they have to buy a bulk order and do the mailings themselves?

Partners can buy a bulk order of the Pearl of Wisdom pin to give away or sell. Partners can also participate by encouraging their members to purchase the pins through the Pearl of Wisdom campaign website (www.PearlofWisdom.us).

Can organizations purchase bulk orders of the pin and sell them, even if they are not an “official” partner?

We would encourage anyone who wants to sell the Pearl of Wisdom pins to become a partner in the campaign and also help to promote awareness of cervical cancer prevention. Organizations can sell the pins, however, provided the profits go to a recognized and verifiable cervical cancer prevention project or program.

How much do the pins cost? What about bulk orders?

The pins are $6.95 each, including shipping and handling. Prices decrease per pin for packets of 5, 10, 25 and up (see www.PearlofWisdom.us). For large bulk orders for events, please contact sales@PearlofWisdom.us to inquire about special pricing.

Can we sell the pins at a profit? Are there any limits on what we can charge or how we use the proceeds?

Organizations can sell the pins at a profit and are welcome to charge what they like, recognizing that they can be purchased by the general public for $6.95 on the Pearl of Wisdom Campaign website. However, the profits must go to a recognized and verifiable cervical cancer prevention project or program – either one run by your organization or one run by another to which your organization donates the money.

Is the European Cervical Cancer Association (ECCA) or Tamika and Friends making a profit on the pins?

No.  The pins are priced so that initial and ongoing investments, including various activities to promote the pearls of wisdom, can be recouped. Money beyond that will be used for cervical cancer prevention related activities through the U.S. Pearl of Wisdom Campaign Fund, a fund managed by Tamika and Friends.

How does the U.S. Pearl of Wisdom Campaign Fund work?

Tamika and Friends has established the U.S. Pearl of Wisdom Campaign Fund, which will provide funding for cervical cancer prevention activities in the U.S.  All funding allocation decisions will be made by a Board comprising representatives from selected founding partners.