The American Childhood Cancer Organization (ACCO) is launching “Stamp Out Childhood Cancer,” a public appeal campaign to demonstrate broad, national support for the creation of a new United States Postal Service (USPS) semipostal stamp to help fund the fight against childhood cancer. The campaign calls on the public to write and send letters of support for the stamp to USPS, the final step in the process of applying for a USPS semipostal stamp.
The stamp is the latest innovative effort by ACCO to raise much needed resources to combat childhood cancer, the leading cause of death by disease for children in the U.S.
“Every year in the United States approximately 16,000 American children are diagnosed with cancer,” said Ruth Hoffman, ACCO CEO. “While we have seen many advancements in adult cancer treatment, the majority of children with cancer continue to be treated with drugs that were approved by the FDA more than 50 years ago. A childhood cancer semipostal stamp would support the research we need to increase survival rates and reduce late effects from toxic treatments. Through ‘Stamp Out Childhood Cancer,’ we are asking all Americans to join ACCO and tell USPS that they want a stamp to benefit children and adolescents fighting cancer.”
ACCO has completed the official application for the creation of the childhood cancer stamp including filing a formal proposal with the USPS Office of Stamp Services and securing the required support from an executive agency—the National Institutes of Health—which would collect the monies raised by the stamp and disburse the funds appropriately for research support.
ACCO’s stamp application is now in the final phase, which requires a demonstration of broad, national enthusiasm for the childhood cancer semipostal stamp in the form of supportive letters to USPS. ACCO is calling on the public to write to USPS in one of three ways:
1. Visiting www.acco.org/stamp to customize and sign a letter, which ACCO will print and deliver to USPS.
2. Emailing letters to ACCO at stamp@acco.org, which ACCO will print and deliver to USPS.
3. Sending letters of support for the childhood cancer stamp directly to
Office of Stamp Services
Attn: Semipostal Discretionary Program
475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Room 3300
Washington, DC 20260-3501
The childhood cancer stamp would be the first semipostal devoted to a childhood disease, and would join a small and distinguished group of other cause-based stamps produced and sold at post offices, online, and by phone order.
The first semipostal stamp, a congressionally-mandated Breast Cancer Research (BCR) stamp, was issued in 1998. As of the year 2000, the Semipostal Authorization Act gives USPS the discretionary authority to issue and sell new semipostal fundraising stamps. In recent years, two semipostal stamps have been issued – an Alzheimer’s stamp in 2017 and a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder stamp in 2019. In two years of circulation, sales of the Alzheimer’s stamp raised over $1 million to fight the disease.
“By contacting USPS, Americans have a unique opportunity to directly demonstrate their support for childhood cancer fighters, survivors and their families,” said Jamie Ennis Bloyd, ACCO Director of Government Relations/External Affairs.
Learn more about the campaign and how to get involved by visiting the ACCO website at www.acco.org/stamp and on social media using #StampOutChildhoodCancer.