Cancer Tragedy Creates Transformation. Doug Carson Explains Albie Aware.

Can a personal tragedy ignite a movement to reshape our healthcare system? Doug Carson joins us to reveal the poignant story behind Albie Aware, a foundation born from the heartache of losing his wife, Albie, to breast cancer. Doug recounts the painful journey that led to the foundation's inception, fueled by the anger and determination to prevent others from facing overlooked diagnostic tests due to insurance constraints. This episode not only honors Albie’s enduring legacy but also underscores the power of awareness and advocacy in the battle against cancer.

Doug passionately discusses the vital role of patient advocacy, emphasizing the need for individuals to be proactive and challenge the norms of healthcare. We explore touching narratives, including a man who defied gender stereotypes to seek crucial medical tests. These stories highlight the universal emotional toll of a cancer diagnosis and the necessity for organizations like Albie Aware to provide emotional and procedural support. In an age where grassroots efforts often replace governmental aid, we dive into the community-driven funding that keeps these essential services alive.

With a modest annual budget and a small yet mighty team, Albie Aware creates hope for many. We celebrate the community impact, from breast health classes to expanding the foundation's reach beyond Sacramento. Join us as we champion awareness, striving to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those touched by breast cancer.

To learn more about Albie Aware visit the website HERE.

Episode Chapters 

(00:00) Albie Aware
Doug Carson founded Albie Aware after his wife's misdiagnosis, expanding its mission to provide affordable testing and honor her legacy.

(14:16) Accessing Healthcare and Emotional Support
Proactive patient advocacy, seeking own information, emotional support, challenging gender stereotypes, grassroots funding for essential services.

(19:26) Expanding Albie Aware's Mission
Successful fundraising strategies include events, sponsorships, and donations, with a goal of nationwide expansion for the nonprofit organization.

(28:46) Cooking, Fantasy Football, and Albie Aware
Running Albie Aware involves personal dedication, sacrifices, and finding relaxation in cooking and fantasy football.

(33:20) Community Impact and Breast Health Initiatives
Breast health and cancer awareness initiatives support 25 people per day, offer classes in English and Spanish, and are grateful for Albie Aware's role.

Thank you so much for listening to this nonprofit story! We appreciate you. Please visit the website to sign up for our email updates and newsletter. https://www.nonprofpod.com/ And if you like, leave me a voicemail to comment on the program, leave a question for us to ask in the future or a message for me, Jeff Holden. I may even use your voice mail message in a future episode of one of our incredible local nonprofit organizations. https://www.nonprofpod.com/voicemail. Thanks again for your support in listening, commenting and sharing the great work our local nonprofits are accomplishing.

Transcript

Doug Carson: [00:00:00] When you hear the word cancer, you get, you get shocked and like, oh my God, what do I do now? Mm-hmm. And so what we're trying to say to people, you don't need alb aware at all to write any checks. You need alb aware, because what we do is we help you with that emotional support. You'll make sure that you, again are getting all the information you need and asking the right questions and make sure to get to the end the right way.

Jeff Holden: Hi, I'm Jeff Holden. Welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast Network. Our purpose and passion. Is to highlight a nonprofit organization in each weekly episode, giving that organization an opportunity to tell their story in their words, to better inform and educate the respective communities they [00:01:00] serve, as well as provide one more tool for them to share their message to constituents and donors.

Our goal is to help build stronger communities through shared voices and to both encourage and support the growth of local nonprofit organizations through podcasting. Thanks to our partners for their support in getting these stories told smud Sacramento Metropolitan Utility District's Shine awards program, benefiting nonprofits for energy efficiency.

CAPTRUST fiduciary advice for endowments and foundations and Western Health Advantage, a full service healthcare plan for individuals, employer groups, and family. Breast cancer remains the most common cancer among women in the us. With over 316,000 new invasive cases and more than 42,000 deaths projected in 20 25, 1 in eight women will face a breast cancer diagnosis in their lifetime.

The good news is early detection has led to a 99% five year [00:02:00] survival rate for localized cases and a steady decline in death rates. However, incidents is rising, particularly among women under 50. This episode, I'm speaking with someone who has not only experienced the loss of a loved one from breast cancer, but also somebody who acted on his frustrations that came from the process of proper diagnosis, care, and prevention.

Al be aware, founded by Doug Carson, has been supporting women with breast cancer and the appropriate preventative care for over 20 years. What they do, how they do it, and who it is they are benefiting makes for an incredible story for an organization that is now recognized as one of the go-to resources for anyone looking for help, support, or just more information on their breast cancer journey.

Doug Carson, welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast Network. Well, thank you very much for being Let me be here. Thank you. You were very candid in our first [00:03:00] conversation about what brought this organization to life some 21 years ago. Would you share the story of how Al Be Aware came to be? 

Doug Carson: Yes. It's still with me.

I'll be. Was diagnosed with breast cancer in April of 1999 and Albi is Al Albi, my wife. Albi. Yes. Her actually she was Alberta cci. She start going by Albi before our, we got together and she loved that way. But Albi received the n bad notice of breast cancer in 1999. We went through all the normal channels.

You know, you go through the tests and et cetera, the lumpectomy, and then they had to do a full mastectomy. So she went into surgery, and after surgery the doctor came in and said, you know, Al, we really kicked this cancer right outta you, is there's no signs of this cancer at all. He's, he was elated sitting there at the bedside.

He said, you know, what we should [00:04:00] do is just, why don't you just go see your oncologist every six months? We'll do a blood test and then we will follow it up with uh, uh, you know, his exam, et cetera. So I think you're good to go. So she did that for three years, April of 2002. She goes back to the oncologist and he does the blood test, says, Hey, yeah, the blood test looks great and you look fabulous so you know I cancer free.

We'll see you in six months. It really was just two weeks later, she was having a headache and her eye was watering horribly and so she went in to see an ophthalmologist. She thought she had an eye problem. He followed that up with an MRI that MRI came back. It showed that she had a brain tumor and right behind her eye, throughout her brain in her spine and liver, and said she was terminal.

Well, that was, I mean, that was devastating news. We just got sat back and said, how can this [00:05:00] happen? So we call and we went back to the oncologist that we saw two weeks prior and said, look, how can this happen? You just said we were cancer free and now she's terminal. What he said is why I started Albe aware.

He said, well, you can't really determine whether the breast cancer metastasizes unless you do a PET CT scan or an MRI. So I said, well then why didn't you do that? He said, well, the insurance companies wouldn't authorize the test. I said, well, then why don't you let us pay for it? And we go from there. No, no, no, no.

That's just not protocol. Well, when I heard that, I really got angry and we stumped out and we fired that doctor and we connected with Sutter and they really, really helped us. They were wonderful in the care that they gave her in their final time, and at that time, they gave her two years maybe and maybe a little bit [00:06:00] more.

She died in six weeks. 

Jeff Holden: Oh my 

Doug Carson: God. The cancer came on so strong. She died July 4th, 2002. I was so angry about, I saw what it did to her, which is horrible, but that disease, how it takes a gorgeous woman and turns her into something different. Mm-hmm. And after we went through that period of a week or two, I said, I have to do something I, I can't allow.

Other people to go through what I'm going through because it's, it's needless all she had to be was tested right after that surgery, tested every six months, and then if they indicated anything, they could have gone in and taken care of it. But no, they didn't. They let it grow beyond the stage of being able to treat it.

So I said, that's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna do it. So I went out and I'm gonna say his name on air because he's an outstanding gentleman and he's on on [00:07:00] air. You probably hear a lot of him anyway, and a good friend of mine named Frank La. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. I know Frank. I went 

Doug Carson: to lunch and he actually went to school at Sac State with Alium at the time.

And we we're sitting there at lunch and I was telling them as if Frank, I'm doing this foundation, but I struggling. I don't know the name. I really need a name. He thought just for a moment, and he says, well, what are you trying to do? I says, I need to make people aware that they need these tests, and if the doctors or insurance companies are refusing it, they have to pound the table and say, I need these tests.

Well, he said, well then maybe what we do we call just, I'll be aware. He says, yeah, you know, if you think about it, you say it fast. I'll be aware. It sounds like I'll be aware. 

Jeff Holden: Exactly. 

Doug Carson: And I, I went, boom, that is fabulous. And 24 years later, or it's 21 of the 5 0 1 C3. We, I, I always count [00:08:00] because I started right away.

But the five oh C 5 0 1 C3 started in 2004. That name never gets tiresome. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Doug Carson: It doesn't, it just keeps growing and growing. It was fabulous. So I thank him to this day. I still thank him for all that. So, but anyway, we started it and then, like I said, then became a family foundation and we wanted to help.

Albi was a realtor and I wanted to help women in real estate. Then it says, well, why are we doing that? Why don't we just help everyone? So it, it morphed into a bigger thing from my very initial thoughts. And so that's why we got a bunch of people together and created a board. And then we went after and got our 5 0 1 C3.

To make it a legitimate corporation. And then we went out and started marketing it and we got contracts with Sutter Hospital to begin with to do the testing. And so they give us special pricing for all the tests, which is great. But it started from there, 

Jeff Holden: [00:09:00] and by started, what the purpose was, was really to help women and men in some cases, and men better identify.

Whatever it is so that it doesn't metastasize or to make sure that they get the proper testing upfront to make sure they get the mammograms on a regular basis, but in a unique way. It wasn't just, here's more information about breast cancer awareness, which is what you do, but it was to provide the resource for those who.

Couldn't necessarily do it. Correct, 

Doug Carson: correct. Well, they don't realize, you know, that if you find breast cancer early zero one, it's 99% re rev survival rate. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Doug Carson: So what does that say? All you need to do is get tested. If you are getting tested and you do it and you find it early, you don't panic. You go in, you get it taken care of, and your life moves on.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Doug Carson: And so what we're trying to do is drive [00:10:00] home, and part of it is we need to make sure people understand they need to be an advocate of their own health. They need to pound the table. Doctors are great. They, but geez, they are so overworked. They, the system gets bogged down. Alright. It's no fault of anybody.

It's a, it's just a reality. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. It's a systemic reality. It's just 

Doug Carson: the way it is. So you call everybody out there, probably listening, has picked up the phone to make an appointment for a doctor. I, I'll see you in six months. You know, you know what, right? What if you're dealing with cancer, you can't wait six months.

And if you're, if you're also afraid of what might happen, if you're one of those susceptible situations, you need to get the test now, not six months. So what we do is that we take you. To our little family we call it. And we make sure that you get your doctor's appointment and if your doctor is booked out, we're gonna find somebody else that gets you [00:11:00] in.

And we're gonna walk you through and help you navigate that medical system, making sure that all the appointments that you need get there, making sure you're connected with a nurse navigator. Work with that nurse navigator. 'cause we have people that work closely with us. And we want, we go out and try to find all the proper programs that are available to you.

There's, there's several government programs out there that pay for things. People don't know about all that. Mm-hmm. Well, what we do is we make sure that we start with those if they will take care and pay for it. We do that. If they don't, then we do, but we follow them through all the way to the end, making sure they are taken care of.

We also even give them a little kit when we find out, and it's full of little goodies that help them after their surgery, and we get those donated from all the other little organizations that we work closely with. 

Jeff Holden: And that's a, a perfect segue to the work closely with Yeah. The collaborative part of.[00:12:00] 

What has become the organization really is a lot of tentacles into the community, certainly starting with our healthcare providers, of which, if I'm not mistaken, you work with all of them. Yes. You have relationships with Sutter and Dignity and Kaiser, and missing Davis and uc, Davis? Yes. Mm-hmm. Tell us a little bit about the collaborative pieces.

Who are some of the other organizations you might work with? Who or who might bubble up into the organization? 

Doug Carson: Well, there's every Woman Counts, which is an organization that pays for a lot of services, but these, these, all these organizations are listed on our website. They're there, or Melissa, who's in our office can definitely direct them.

I apologize for not popping it right off the top of my head. Carrie's touches. It was one of the, the other ones, but there are people who have materials for their bras to help them with their different things, with the tubes that go in for draining. Mm-hmm. After the mastectomy, there's creams. The creams are so, so important, and that's another story I [00:13:00] would love to tell you, but the cream that they have, which is anti burn cream, 'cause you, during the radiation, you get burned a lot and you need a special cream.

And if you, if you can't believe this, the insurance company will pay for the test or the surgery, but they won't pay for the cream. Oh. And you go, why? But, and the cream is $600. Oh. It's not, it's not 26.95 at the store. Yeah. This isn't just a $600 normal bottle of, or something. I'll be pace for the cream and we make sure you get those kinds of things.

And so there's all those little things. There's wigs, we have people association with people with wigs, and they're all in our collaborative family as we will. They work with us, we work with them, et cetera. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. On the healthcare systems, because they are insurance based, how do you interface. How do you get in between or do you just circumvent?

Are you separate from the insurance element? We're definitely 

Doug Carson: separate. So you walk in [00:14:00] to, let's just say you walk into the doctor and he says, oh my gosh, we need to do a mammogram. And so they go, do you have insurance? Or he obviously if you had insurance, you'd be there. Mm-hmm. So. What is your copay? This is another major thing.

So yeah, they have insurance, but yes, but I have a huge copay. Well, this diagnostic mammogram is gonna cost, you know, $1,200 and out of pocket it's maybe a thousand or $800. She said, well, I don't have that. I'll be where steps in Sutter or the other hospitals will pick up the phone and they'll call LB aware and say, Hey, we need help our, our patient.

Needs this test and can't afford the copay. We jump in, we take a look at the thing and we pay for it. Mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: And 

Doug Carson: so that that patient doesn't miss a step. So we are the, we don't work against the insurance companies. We work actually with them side by side to these extent, side by extent side, we we're just adding additional funds 

Jeff Holden: and I'm sure there's [00:15:00] cases where there may be no insurance that you're able to support that individual, that woman who maybe is, is really not.

Challenge situation and maybe even homeless. Yes. 

Doug Carson: Yes. There, it would be shocking to you to know how many people that don't have insurance, period. No insurance. I was shocked, and we take care of those people every day. In fact, Melissa, who's in our office, does a wonderful job with our clients, deals with up to about 20 to 25 people a day.

Oh my goodness. A day. And the phone rings off the hook and she's, you know, governing them to different places. But the majority of those phone calls are no insurance. And then the, the other parts are, you know, copays, but then there's, there's additional services that we have. It is, it's, I think it's the equipment, it's this one lady had, and I don't know how far we can talk on, on air about the [00:16:00] conditions, but she had leakage from a nipple that was horrible.

And it's, it's this whole special treatment that has to happen. So. She, her insurance companies would not pay for it. Well. It's expensive. So we stood, we jumped in and we made sure we took care of that. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Doug Carson: So there's little things like that. There's all the, and I don't know if I have the capability right now to touch on every single little one.

Oh. And not necessary. 'cause my brain won't. It's okay. Talk about, but there's so much in that our website or a direct call to Melissa and Yeah, please don't wait for getting tested. 

Jeff Holden: And, and that's the, the point to make sure that people understand just because you don't have the capability to pay. There's an organization out there that can help and it, and it's all be aware.

Yes. So they can reach out and find a way to get their situation taken care of. Not to mention this, this advocacy is so important and many people are intimidated and they just don't have the understanding, [00:17:00] wherewithal, knowledge, whatever it may be. They need somebody to help them advocate for themselves.

Yeah. And that's where you come in. 

Doug Carson: Well, as you can see, I've been around a few years, and I remember when I was younger when you may picked to the phone and you talked and talked to the doctor. The doctor said that was all, that was gospel. That's it. That's all he said, you do it right. Well, you cannot do that today.

You really sincerely can't. There's. There are examples over and over again where if you are not pushing, if you're not even investigating on your own and you not demanding certain things, you can get lost in the shuffle. Mm-hmm. And you're gonna die. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. But, and, and that's a true point. So true in so many cases, and it's, it's frustrating.

We have all the access to learn now through digital access. Not everybody has access No. To be able to learn. And secondly, once you do have that access, then what? Now You have to [00:18:00] convince somebody that's the path you need to take because you're experiencing whatever it is, those symptoms that condition, whatever it may be, as you try to convey to the doctor who you can't get to.

Doug Carson: There's one point we haven't touched on and I'd love to touch on if you don't mind, please. And is, so we're talking right now about no insurance. You know, no, the copay's too big, all these different things. But what if that, you're the richest person in the world and you get a phone call from your doctor, and they said, I'm sorry to tell you, you have breast cancer, is th all that money not to keep you from being afraid.

No, it doesn't. It, it, it will, it will that when you hear the word cancer, you get, you get shocked and like, oh my God, what do I do now? And so what we're trying to say to people, I don't care how much money you have, I don't care if you can go pay for the hospital itself. You don't need the money. You don't need alb [00:19:00] aware at all to write any checks at all.

You need ALB aware because what we do is we help you with that emotional support. Melissa will sit there and talk to you. You'll make sure. That you, again, are getting all the information you need and asking the right questions and make sure she follows you through the system to make sure you get to the end the right way.

And so to relieve, release that fear mm-hmm. That you have make you relax. It's not the end of the world. We can take care of it. Just follow our lead. 

Jeff Holden: And that fear is gender and ethnicity and race. Agnostic, everybody experiences. It doesn't matter how much wealth you've got and who you are, if you get a diagnosis or you get something that looks like a potential life-threatening situation.

You are challenged. 

Doug Carson: Yeah. In fact, that leads, this is that you're talked to men. [00:20:00] 3% of men get breast cancer. Mm-hmm. Okay. Well, 3%, you know, no big deal, but I'm not gonna say his name again, but a gentleman that we know very well that we didn't personally help at the time, but he came to us afterwards to make sure other men are aware of what's going on.

He goes to his doctor and he says, Hey, doc. And he knows the doctor very well. It's his, his primary cares has been with him a long time. And he says, you know, I, I feel this, this little thing over here on my breast, the side of my breast. And he says, it's bugging me immediately. It's, it's, come on. You know, it's, it is a cis, don't worry about it.

You know, you worry too much. So he says, you know, okay, I let it go. He says, but I had to, I see the doc every six months. So next six months says, you know, it's a little bit bigger, so I'm really worried about this thing. The doctor dismissed him again, just don't, he got, actually, he says he got angry at [00:21:00] me.

He dismissed me. So the following six months I went back and it was there and it was bigger. He says, look, I don't care what you're saying. I demand, I need a mammogram. I want some tests. The doctor got upset with him, said, okay, fine. Threw his hands in the air, so I'll order the darn thing. And so they ordered it and he had breast cancer stage three.

Oh my gosh. And he almost died. He went through complete hell, um, in his, uh, treatment and to even to this day, he is in completely out of the woods. He always has something there and he keeps going back, et cetera. It's changed his life tremendously and all because. You're a man. Let's just ignore it. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm.

Doug Carson: Please. I mean, yeah, I understand. We are not thinking of it. I I do the same, but darn it. If you think it's there, just check it, get it tested. 

Jeff Holden: Yes. Denial is our favorite word with a D, right? Absolutely. [00:22:00] We'll be back with more from Doug and learn how Albe Aware continues their support for women with breast cancer.

Right after we hear from those responsible for making our program possible. 

Scott Thomas: Hello, this is Scott Thomas with CAPTRUST in our Sacramento office. I specialize in working with local nonprofits and associations annually. We survey private and public nonprofit organizations across the country to better understand challenges they see in today's environment.

In our more recent survey, we hear concerns about proper board governance, mission aligned investment, and how to implement alternative investments. If you would like a copy of the survey or do discuss your organization, look me up, scottThomas@captrust.com. 

Jeff Holden: I'm thrilled to have Western Health Advantage partnering with us as they do so much to support so many nonprofit agencies in our community.

As a truly local health plan, you'll find individual and family options, employer options plans for CalPERS and Medicare Advantage. From [00:23:00] medical services to pharmacy health and wellness support, as well as behavioral healthcare. Western Health Advantage has a plan that fits what you need as an employer for profit or nonprofit business, individual or family.

You can find more@westernhealth.com. Let's get into some of the funding for the organization. How do you raise funds, because if I'm not mistaken, you're not federally supported or, or supported through. Contract with state organizations. It's really grassroots funding. Yes. 

Doug Carson: Yes, it definitely is. It, there's through several different phases.

One obviously is events. Events bring a lot, and we have so many good people that have come to us that have said, Hey, I tell you what, we wanna do this event and we want make you the beneficiary. And so that's great. And then take some of our involvement. Al Beware has a couple of their own events, but the [00:24:00] majority of 'em, what we call third party events, there are other people.

One of those is the one that's your favorite one. It's called The Pink Ladies. It's a group of women that put on a garden party in the fab forties that just is a ticket to be had. It's great. 

Jeff Holden: And that happens every September. 

Doug Carson: Every September. 

Jeff Holden: And this is 2025 and we're having the discussion. This is your 10th anniversary?

Yes, that's correct. Wonderful. 

Doug Carson: It's awesome. It's, it's a great, it's a wonderful party. It raises a lot of money and, and you can't even an event that you sell a ticket for a decent price and et cetera, you get everything donated. You can't make enough money. By selling tickets, right? It, it just doesn't work.

The amount of effort it goes into, et cetera. So what does it come down to? Sponsorships. Uh, that really is your whole key. And then what we try to do in our best way is to make sure that we turn back and give the sponsors as much help and the recognition [00:25:00] and exposure as we can and to do that. But sponsors are a key.

So you got the events and then you have the sponsorships. Then we have some donors that say, you know, I have a family foundation, or I do really well and I, I just want to give back and I love what you do. Here's a check for mm-hmm. And we get some decent sized funds from different people. And I know one major, several, I just, I will tell you this, and I went to Christian Brothers High School and I am, and we always call ourselves brothers, boys.

To this day we just had our 60th reunion and, but to this day, there are groups of these people that I went to school with that are still close friends, just got back from a golf tournament, just we just see each other. The support from just them is phenomenal. And then the residual pieces of them, the [00:26:00] people.

So from there it is. People hearing me talk today that, well, you know, I think I like what he's saying. I want to help mm-hmm. With this thing and they just send him money. And one of the programs that I am really strong on that we need to grow, and it's a difficult one to market it. We call it Albi, always.

And what it is, is, Jeff, can you give us $10 a month? If you think that's like subscription based 

Jeff Holden: donation, 

Doug Carson: yeah. Mm-hmm. Just give us your credit card for your contract and we'll just charge you $10 a month, $20 a month. We have people that do much more. Sure, but we ask if, can you afford $10? If we had a group, enough people that do that, it would pay the monthly expenses.

Then that means that all those other programs that we're talking about, all that money goes right into the mission. Our job is not to have CDs and, and 4 0 1 Ks [00:27:00] and all that. Our job is to take your money and spend it on people who need it. That's our job, but have enough money to manage 

Jeff Holden: it. So on the budget of the organization, roughly, what do you work with on an annual?

Doug Carson: Actually, we're, we're not that big. Right now. We're about 450,000. 

Jeff Holden: Okay. 

Doug Carson: And we need to grow. Part of it is because we're Sacramento based, we're like seven counties around Sacramento. So when you're that like that, you don't get the major corporation money that come in because they want to give it to, 'cause it's national.

We don't get national exposure stuff. So it's all the local stuff. 

Jeff Holden: Sure, sure. And how many people do you employ? One. Really? So it's just Melissa. 

Doug Carson: It's just Melissa, we have had more. She's got her hands full. Well, it is, and it isn't because she's there to take care of our mission. So we [00:28:00] have me, Melinda, my wife, we have a working board.

So we have people wonderful that are all around Melissa, that do jobs. I'm on the board and my job is yes, and this is what I do. And for example, you know you have an accountant, you have a lawyer, you have somebody's in social media and graphic arts, and their job is to take care of all the needs of Al aware.

Jeff Holden: Yes. 

Doug Carson: And so we have a volunteer basis. Fabulous. And we have all these in October. We got three events on October 18th. Three that we have to be at. So not that all of us can't be at all of them, divide and conquer. So we have to divide and conquer. So we have a volunteer base that go out in the field and do these things.

Wonderful. And it's so with the volunteers and the working board. I think we need more employees. 'cause my goal is to not be seven counties around Sacramento. My goal is to help more people. So if we're going to be able to do that, [00:29:00] we need more money to have another Melissa to go get bigger. But the other part, I don't want to have tons of employees and just pay for the employees.

Correct. You had to go to the mission. 

Jeff Holden: Well, you just, you're leading right into the next question, which is if money weren't an object. What would the organization look like? 

Doug Carson: Oh, well, first of all, we wouldn't be seven counties around Sacramento. Yeah, I saw that coming. We would be going, I want to, I wanna have some football player have, have Albe aware on his shoes.

Yeah. You know that program that they have to say one thing, I wanna help people nationwide and I wanna have chapters all over the place popping up. Do, you know, Make-A-Wish. Started that the way we did. But they helped children and all of a sudden then they got started because they went, had some money behind them.

Mm-hmm. But there was grassroots and they just popped up all over because somebody in San Francisco said, oh, I wanna do that for children. So they started the foundation. That's what I want. 

Jeff Holden: [00:30:00] Mm-hmm. 

Doug Carson: I want to get other people and I want to help other people come forward, but, uh, and then I want an office. I dream about this building that Al Beware corporate office.

And then down below it's like a little retail center of all those services that we talked about, the wigs and the creams and all those things. So you could walk into this building and you have everything that you need to take care of your. Journey through getting cured from breast cancer. Mm-hmm. And all right there at your fingertips.

That's what I want. 

Jeff Holden: I love that. And I love the fact that you're able to share that so articulately to the people who are listening for somebody to hear it and say, I get that. I understand that. And yes, that's a, that's a wonderful mission and a wonderful goal. Let's figure a way to get there. Yeah, because that's visual and I can, I can see the need for that.

It gives that woman, that woman, a one source stop, right? She doesn't have to shop and go all over online and try to figure out what it is. You have people there who [00:31:00] understand, they know the situation. They can work with her or him to whatever the need is instantly and save them all that time and trouble.

And I'm sure it would be subsidized to some way, shape, or form in terms of the expense as well. 

Doug Carson: There. There are people out there with the money or foundations out there with the money. Yes. That could go, oh, you know, I think I'd like to take that, that whole concept and push it forward. Yeah. If they're there, I will definitely help 'em.

We, we have a place for them to land. We have a place for them. We definitely do. 

Jeff Holden: Looking back to reality today, what's the greatest need of the organization? 

Doug Carson: Obviously beyond the obvious is money, but you know, sure. I will tell you that's the toughest thing in the world for me to always go ask for money and I've never been good at it, but I have to do it.

But the other need is to make sure people, what you're doing, you're trying to help me make other people aware. And if more and more and more people become aware. And they [00:32:00] start listening and learning how to be an advocate of their own health. It doesn't have to be breast cancer. It could be anything, right?

It could be kidney disease. I don't care what it is. Just learn to be an advocate of your own health. And then also, I personally would tie nutrition into it. I don't think nutrition gets tied into medicines as much as it should. I believe there's a lot of natural ways to help. So I would love to build a nutrition program around the services of Al.

Be aware, just to help you. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Doug Carson: It's not, I'm not saying nutrition cures you, but sometimes it can almost cure you. 

Jeff Holden: Right. And we're learning so much more every single day about what values of certain diets are and what the consequences of certain diets are. Absolutely. To the negative and to the positive.

Which is is a big plus. You've been committed to the organization since the beginning, Doug. It's [00:33:00] predominantly your organization as a result of your relationship with Albe, and it's taken a lot of work and a lot of time, and you work a full-time job on top of it. 

Doug Carson: Well, I don't make any money with Albe aware.

It cost me money, so I get asked that a lot. By the way, how much money do you make? Oh, I wasn't. I wasn't even going there. I know, but I got it is kind of zero. But yes, I have another job that I have to work at to make a living. Yes. So that I can keep al where going. Yes. 

Jeff Holden: And I'm very familiar with working boards, so Yes, I understand that.

Yeah. But what do you do to relax? What do you do for fun? 

Doug Carson: Oh, well, we talked about it. My favorite hobby is cooking. I love cooking so much. I if, if I'm stressed out, you know, people can't understand this. They get stressed when they have to go make dinner. I did. Stress release when I have to go make dinner.

I mean, or some days like on a Saturday I'll just get up and my whole day is planned at the markets and then back at the kitchen and just playing. [00:34:00] Playing and creating sauces, things for just doing that. I, I just love to cook and then I write cooking columns and I have recipes and, and people are bugging me for a book.

But that's a tough job. It it, it is. It, it is. But that's my, that's my real thrill besides watching sports, I mean, I loved, my son also got me into fantasy football, which is crazy what that does. I said, you're nuts. I'm not doing that. I got into it. It means absolutely nothing. But man, it really takes all the stress of the world away from you.

'cause you're doing something that means nothing. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. 

Doug Carson: But you're happy doing it. So between that and cooking, I'm good. 

Jeff Holden: And it's, it's fun to learn from leadership of these organizations. How many people actually have shared cooking? I think that's, that, that personal piece that we all get to know a little bit about the individual that we see in the professional space, but never about the personal.

And then when you run into them socially, how often it is the first conversation [00:35:00] isn't about the organization. It's like, Hey, I heard you love cooking. I got a great recipe for right. And I hear it and see it so many times. It's, it's, it's fun. 

Doug Carson: Well, we, we gravitate to food. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah, 

Doug Carson: we really do. 

Jeff Holden: Well, we need it.

We need it. That's for sure. What's the best way to learn more about Albe Aware? 

Doug Carson: The website, I think is probably the easiest way to go right to the website, albe aware.org. 

Jeff Holden: Okay. And it's 

Doug Carson: A-A-L-B-I-E-A-W-A-R e.org? 

Jeff Holden: Yes. Okay, good. 

Doug Carson: So it, that is, gives you information, it gives you who to call, what to do. If you don't remember my name, you don't remember Alyssa, it's all there.

Mm-hmm. And, uh, do that. And then, um. That we do a lot of social media, so we do some other marketing. Again, the events and the direct mail from the events and those kinds of things. But if you're out there and you've never heard of an event and there are still people that I've never heard of, Al Beware and [00:36:00] we're 21 years old in Sacramento, and you think, you think somewhere along the line you would, but more and more and more people do hear about us.

And it's word of mouth. So what we are also creating is a group of, as I'll call them evangelists. It's just people who know me, who know the situation and, and they will be in a party and say, yeah, I just ran into and I just went to an al be aware of it. Have you ever been to an event like that? Have you ever heard of had those kind of people going to parties or, or.

Gatherings and they start talking about it. It is amazing how it spreads. Mm-hmm. By just word of mouth. But if you need help, you ask your doctor, ask your Sutter Dignity, Kaiser Davis, UCD. They all know, they all know about LB Aware. 

Jeff Holden: And they all refer. And they all 

Doug Carson: refer and we work as partners with them.

And then all the nurse navigator. So if you're sick, you're gonna hear about, I'll be aware, if you're not sick, you know. [00:37:00] I guess it's an event or maybe listen to the podcast. That's right. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate that. 

Jeff Holden: Well, with breast cancer awareness, you know, getting so much traction and it's no longer a matter of, of the testing and, and about how or when.

It's really the awareness. It's just the awareness to know that you've got places to go and you address that biggest hurdle with proper diagnosis and education For those who are underserved or uninsured. And that's happening right here in our seven county community. I mean, that's, it's a big deal and it supports so many different people.

When you said 25 people a day, I almost fell outta my chair. I mean, that's, yeah, a huge number. So it, it's great to see what you're doing. It's great to see what's been going on for the last 20 plus years, the engagement you've gotten, the continuum that you've got, and the connectivity. What a difference you're making in saving the lives and the quality of lives for so many [00:38:00] people, both women and men.

Right? And thank you for that. 

Doug Carson: Well, I appreciate that. Yeah. It's one thing we didn't touch on a little bit too is breast health classes. I just thought of it. Breast health classes. Mm-hmm. We do classes all the time for organizations. Let's say you're a corporation and your employees, if they're always sick or they really get sick, they get breast cancer and they got to go through, you're losing them and or they have to cost their, your insurance program a lot of money, which costs you in the long run we to go in.

And do a breast can breast health class at the office for all their employees. Great way to do things. 

Jeff Holden: And those are just part of the service you provide? 

Doug Carson: Yes. Part of this? Yeah. We do Wonderful. The services all over and we do 'em in English and in Spanish. And for the Spanish. 'cause with the Spanish community is, there's a lot of people that don't have insurance.

Jeff Holden: Sure. Doug, thank you for all that you're doing for the, you know, the, the continued effort for that working board. For what Albe Aware means to the community. 

Doug Carson: Thank you. This has been 

Jeff Holden: fabulous. Thanks [00:39:00] Jeff. Thank you for listening to the Nonprofit Podcast Network. I hope you enjoyed the episode. If what you heard moved you, please reach out to that organization and do what you can to help.

If you like and appreciate what we're doing to support local nonprofits, please give us a positive review. Subscribe and share. If you're a nonprofit with an interest in participating in an episode. You can reach me at jeff@hearmeowstudio.com. Once again, we're grateful for the businesses who have made this program possible.

CAPTRUST fiduciary advice for endowments and foundations. You can find them in Sacramento, Roseville and Folsom captrust.com. SUD Shine Awards helping support our nonprofit community with grants For more efficient energy usage, sud.org. Slash Shine and Western Health Advantage, a full service healthcare plan for individuals, employer [00:40:00] groups, and families.

Western health.com.