SIBU: Sarawak Children Cancer Society (SCCS) is casting its net wider in fundraising as donors cut back on donations due to the global economic slowdown.

“We will not limit ourselves to the usual donors. This year for the first time, we will send our society’s profile, enclosed with appeal letters to the people’s representatives seeking for funds,” said its 48-year-old president Raymond Thong yesterday.

“We are casting our net wider so to speak as we understand fully that some of the current donors may be hard pressed to keep themselves afloat amid the global economic crisis.”

To a question, he said the society’s profile will contain all its activities since its inception to allow people to understand what they had been doing over the years, and what the funds had been spent on.

He believed existing donors were likely to cut back on the amount donated.

Some, he perceived, would shy away from charity as they have more pressing financial commitments to fulfil.

“With the glut of job losses, business closures and companies embarking on cost-cutting, we foresee that soliciting for funds will be tough in the coming days as people tighten their budget,” he said when interviewed over the telephone.

With more cancer patients joining their society each year, Thong said it was paramount that they broaden their coverage and not rigidly stick to their existing line of donors.

Apart from keeping the society up and running, it is important to ensure a continued flow of funds for treatment of cancer-stricken children and other needs of their families, he stressed.

For that, they have to move in tandem with the environment, he said, including proper planning and optimising of resources to avoid wastage.

“Like business entities, we must be prudent in our spending during these difficult times. We need to be very prudent with public funds and utilise it for the benefit of cancer-stricken children and their parents,” he said.

Citing an example, he said they might combine their annual Golden Child Camp (GCC) to reduce expenses.

“We might combine Sibu and Miri while Kuching will be organised separately. In so doing, we can save on the transportation, accommo-dation and so on.”

In view of the current economic slowdown, he hinted that they might not organise GCC during peak periods of the year, for example, during the year end and school holidays.

This is because they could negotiate with the hotel for better discounts and packages during off season, he said, adding that it was important to keep the overheads to the minimum.

Thong did not discount their having to postpone the annual GCC if there was fund constraint or warranted by the economy.

“Postponing GCC or delaying it is not life-threatening. But when there is delay in getting the necessary treatment, the situation could turn life-threatening for cancer-stricken children. In this connection, we will give priority to ensuring these patients obtain the required treatment.

“To begin with, cancer treatment does not come cheap. There is a cost factor involved. As such, we need to save and be prudent with our funds so that we can render the assistance when required,” he said.

Thong said it was important for the society not be controlled by the environment.

“We cannot give excuses that because of the global economic environment, we are not able to do this or that,” he said. Rather what is important is for them to continue to manage their funds efficiently and be prudent with their expenditure.

The fundraising project is divided into the annual food fair, corporate bodies and public donations including those from associations.

On the fundraising target, he said: “We have set different budgets for each of them.”

He said the society needed to be proactive and continue to work hard to source for funds so the needy continue to get cancer-related treatment.