ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Since our founding in 1997, the Wellesley Cancer Prevention Project (WCPP) has initiated several activities that have influenced the way that residents and the Town of Wellesley address their health. Specifically, the Wellesley Cancer Prevention Project:

• successfully lobbied for the creation of a Town Pesticide Awareness Coordinator,
• published many articles in the Wellesley Townsman highlighting some of the health risks related to various chemicals,
• provided guidance to the Natural Resource Commission which resulted in their decision to avoid using herbicides in Morses Pond,
• worked with other environmental groups to lobby the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to establish a commission to protect child health and development.
  
• served on the Sprague Fields Task Force, providing  guidance in the area of artificial turf and health & safety.
  Click Here for more Information regarding the Sprague Fields Task Force
• provided seminars and forums to educate community members about the potential hazards of water, dry-cleaning, personal care products, plastics, and other areas of health concern.
  

By 2003, the WCPP had become a well-established resource in the town, and received its 501(c)3 status as a non-profit organization.

The Wellesley Cancer Prevention Project also worked with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to continue its research and to release the results of a second (and more up-to-date) study of cancer incidence among Wellesley residents. The results of that second study indicate that Wellesley has cancer rates that are equal to or comparable to statewide rates for some types of cancer. A copy of the entire report can be found at the Wellesley Library, or click here: the report.

Our first town-wide forum in was held in 2000.  Since then, the Wellesley Cancer Prevention Project has sponsored a series of town-wide forums in an effort to make our community more aware of potential environmental health risks. These forums are free and open to the general public.

The Wellesley Cancer Prevention Project continues to work with the Wellesley Natural Resources Commission and the Wellesley Board of Health to continue providing venues for broad education and prevention efforts to minimize cancer risks in our community.