SPAM IN THE MAIL: One Bradford resident has been keeping me informed about numerous mailings received by a family member. So far this year, they have received four, spaced out from March to September.

Those mail deliveries are from “The National Breast Cancer Research Center 2021 Bradford Area Annual Fund Drive.” That seems like a good cause and designed to grab the recipient’s attention, since it’s said to be the annual drive for the Bradford Area.

The items that come in the mail from the Walker Cancer Research Institute are said to be “part of a bulk mailing that cannot be stopped” per PaperKarma (a mobile app that stops junk mail).

A site that attempts to sort the legitimate from the not-so-honest in charity organizations, Charity Navigator, does not have a listing for the National Breast Cancer Research Center.

A review, posted to Charity Navigator and quoted by greatnonprofits.org, states “Walker Cancer Research Institute is a scam. One of their ‘projects’ is the National Breast Cancer Research Center. If you read the Solicitation for Charitable Purposes Card, you will find the following:

Contributions made to National Breast Cancer Research Center, a project of Walker Cancer Research Institute (WCRI) are used for fundraising expenses, administrative costs, public education and program services. In the last fiscal year, Walker Cancer Research Institute raised a total of $12,697,567. Its expense distribution was 51.7% to fundraising, 1.1% to administration, 4.2% to research program services, and 43% to public education in conjunction with fundraising appeals.”

A visit to the institute’s website, www.walkercri.org, shows no phone number to call and that it was last updated in 2013. Therefore, for those who may donate to this campaign, it might be time to consider donating elsewhere.