Did you receive a call claiming to be from Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation? Today we’ll take a look at this organization and telemarketing calls on their behalf.
Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation
The number that called us was 877-218-8360. Because the caller lacked professionalism, we decided to contact Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation directly to ask them if this number was legitimate. We sent the following message to them:
I received a call claiming to be from your organization. It called from 877-218-8360. It did not sound like a legitimate call to me. Can you confirm if this number called on behalf of Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation?
A couple of days later we received a response from the, which stated:
Yes, this is a call from the team that solicits donations on our behalf. Please let me know if you have any further questions.
Telemarketing Firms
So 877-218-8360 is someone calling on the behalf of Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation. Bloomberg posted an extensive article in 2012 in which they reported that telemarketers calling on behalf of charities keep as much as 85% of the donations. Even more damning is this WXYZ investigative report from 2011 in which the telemarketers calling on behalf of Children’s Cancer Recovery was listed as Associated Community Services, and described as a “boiler room” which kept all but a “small fraction” of funds collected. One of the rebuttals in their sales pitch was reported to be:
“These children are fighting for their lives. Rather than skipping the kids in this campaign, I’ll keep you involved with our smallest card for $10. I’m sure you can squeeze that in for the children right?!”
The Associated Community Services website indeed listed a testimonial (archived) from Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation founder and CEO Greg Anderson:
“Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation needed to both expand and upgrade its donor base. We turned to the \n team at Associated Community \n Services. In just over a year they added 100,000 new donors. We are now poised for further growth.”
According to their website, “Cancer Recovery Foundation International (CRFI) is a group of global affiliated charities, founded by “The Wellness Authority” Greg Anderson in 1984.” Their purpose is to assist “children under age 18 and their families who are facing the hardships of a cancer diagnosis.”
You can view a full report of this charity here. It is interesting to look at that page and read the reviews, which are overwhelmingly negative based solely on the telemarketers calling on the behalf of the charity. Though it is unclear if Associated Community Services is still the telemarketing firm used by Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation, the website is no longer working as of November 2014.
Childrenscancerrecovery.org, was registered in August of 2009.
Bottom Line
If you receive a call from 877-218-8360, it is a telemarketer calling on the behalf of Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation. Always keep in mind that numbers can always be spoofed, too. If you would like to donate to this – or any – charity, we recommend contacting them directly, rather than going through a telemarketer who will keep a portion of the funds donated.
Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation contact info:
6380 Flank Drive, Suite 400
Harrisburg, PA 17112
Toll Free Phone: 800-238-6479
Local Phone: 717-545-7600
Their website also has a phone number removal form, found here.
Your Turn
Have you received a call from 877-218-8360 soliciting donations on behalf of this charity? Tell us about your experience.
Revised November 18, 2014
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