Think about all the things chiropractic has done for you through the years. For some of us, it's the way we make our living - either as doctors or as vendors who sell to chiropractors. Many of us have healthier bodies thanks to chiropractic care. Perhaps you've experienced a true miracle of chiropractic with one of your patients, a family member or yourself. We've all known people who have been helped by chiropractic care after months or even years of suffering, and possibly long after other treatments have failed. Isn't it time we gave back to the profession that has done so much for us?
I'm pleased to announce that numerous companies, state associations and individual chiropractors are leading the way to a better and brighter future by supporting the Campaign for Chiropractic. The campaign recently received a $2 million boost when Foot Levelers, Inc., and NCMIC Chiropractic Solutions each pledged to donate $1 million over the next five years.
These companies contributed to the campaign because they are passionate about chiropractic and the benefits it can bring to the public. When asked about the donation, Dr. Louis Sportelli, president of NCMIC, said, "The chiropractic profession has as much potential to grow as their collective vision can take them. We know that only about 8 percent of the public sees a chiropractor. A credible campaign to raise the awareness of the benefits of chiropractic, supported with enough resources, can make a big difference. We only need to move the needle a small amount to have a huge impact on the profession both today and in the future."
Foot Levelers donated to the Campaign for Chiropractic because we want to do all we can to bring chiropractic to more people and increase chiropractic's market share. We don't want people to see a chiropractor as a last resort after failed surgeries or years of pain-killing drugs. We want people to choose chiropractic care as their first line of defense against illness and injury. Quite simply, we are supporting the campaign because it's the right thing to do. We owe chiropractors all the help we can give them in bringing more patients to their offices. We also want the public to hear about the numerous benefits of chiropractic care.
Donations are critical, but the Campaign for Chiropractic could have never achieved this much success without the generous support of the chiropractic media. We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Don Petersen Jr., publisher of Dynamic Chiropractic, for facilitating this process. He has lent his generous support to the campaign from the very beginning. Don has the ear of the profession, and he has been dedicated and consistent in using his influence to spread the word about the campaign to doctors across the country. Don is an outstanding leader and a true friend to our profession.
Dynamic Chiropractic is the most widely read chiropractic news publication. They have gone above and beyond normal acts of generosity by donating ad space, editorial and commentary, including the space this column occupies, to support the campaign. Thousands of doctors have received the information they needed to decide to donate to the campaign because of the messages from Dynamic Chiropractic. Don Petersen and DC deserve many thanks for what they have done for the campaign.
Additional chiropractic media supporting the campaign include The American Chiropractor, DC Products Review, and the ChiroView Presents Web site. These media outlets are playing a valuable role by donating editorial and advertising space, and reporting on the campaign's progress to help us reach large numbers of chiropractors.
Breakthrough Coaching and Chiropractic Economics also should be recognized for their major donations to the campaign. Breakthrough Coaching has pledged $500,000 over five years. Joseph D. Doyle, president of the Doyle Group, which publishes Chiropractic Economics, has committed to a $100,000 donation over two years. Additional companies that have pledged their support for the Campaign for Chiropractic are GMP Fitness, Trusted Voice, Standard Process, Inc., ChiroCode Institute, Inc., and Anabolic Laboratories.
The Campaign for Chiropractic is gaining ground with chiropractic associations across the country. We're receiving support from state associations in New Jersey, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, North Carolina and South Dakota. In addition, the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations (COCSA), the Student American Chiropractic Association (SACA) and the World Federation of Chiropractic have agreed to support the campaign. These associations represent a diverse range of chiropractors whose techniques, philosophies and opinions are completely different. But they've united for the greater good because the Campaign for Chiropractic will help every chiropractor across the United States, regardless of their differences.
Everyone who benefits from the chiropractic profession should value the opportunity to support the Campaign for Chiropractic. Imagine trying to move all your belongings into a new house by yourself. It would be very tiring and take an extremely long time. Now imagine that you had five, 10 or 15 people to help you. The more people you had to help you, the easier it would be. Achieving a better future for chiropractic is actually quite similar. If more companies, state associations and individual chiropractors help, it will be easier for us to spread the chiropractic message to the public.
No one is going to help us until we help ourselves. We can't wait for the media to decide to report unbiased, positive stories about our profession. We can't wait for more young people to pursue careers in chiropractic. We can't wait for the public to educate themselves about chiropractic. If we want chiropractic to grow, prosper, and serve more people, we need to make a commitment to the long-term health of chiropractic and back it with our financial support.
This campaign is a way for us to achieve our dream of a future in which everyone values chiropractic care as much as we do. We're striving to give chiropractic positive media exposure and increase patient visits, and provide chiropractors the marketing support they need to build and maintain successful practices. We want the public to see, hear and read the message as many times as it takes for them to consciously decide to seek more information on chiropractic. The more potential patients we can educate, the more people we can help.
Even though we should all be proud of the funds we've raised and the progress that has been made, our work is far from over. Pharmaceutical companies can afford to spend billions of dollars on advertising. We're the underdogs in this fight, but the facts are on our side. Chiropractic is natural, effective and relatively inexpensive. We can offer the public more gain and less pain - physically, emotionally and financially. Positive press is a powerful weapon that will change the way the public perceives our profession, but we need the Campaign for Chiropractic to ensure that the public hears our message.
We need your support to accomplish our goals. If you're in practice, you wouldn't dream of not paying your electric bill, because you couldn't take care of patients in the dark. Your donation to the campaign is every bit as vital to your success and the future of your practice. We're encouraging every chiropractor to pledge $50 to $100 a month on your credit card, or whatever you can afford, and consider it a part of the cost of doing business.
Let's make sure everyone in the country knows about the benefits of chiropractic care. Whether you're a vendor, a student or a chiropractor, we all have a stake in the future of this profession. It's time for all of us to be leaders. It's time for us to give something back to chiropractic. Together, we will make this work!
P.S. Donations to the Campaign for Chiropractic can be mailed to:
The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress
1335 North Front Street, Suite 201
Harrisburg, PA 17102
Kent S. Greenawalt
Roanoke, Virginia
