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December 28, 1999. "Please, please be sure to perform your
monthly breast self-exam at the very first chance you get. And don't
forget to call or pass this reminder on to your designated "
buddies" in our program. It's so important that we all work
together to fight breast cancer. It can make a huge difference for
you, and for the people you love." says the message delivered
to women in the Washington DC area. While October was National Breast
Cancer Awareness month, this reminder message is part of an ongoing
program called "Buddy CheckTM 9", a joint collaboration
of Channel 9 Eyewitness News (WUSA-TV), Cancer Research Foundation
of AmericaTM, Lombardi Cancer Center at the Georgetown University
Medical Center, Comverse Network Systems, Bell Atlantic® Home
Voice Mail, and WHUR 96.3 FM.
Over 100,000 local women participate in the Buddy Check 9 program.
These women receive a kit with pertinent information about breast
cancer, instructions on conducting the proper breast self-exam,
calendar stickers and a medical hotline number. In addition Channel
9 Eyewitness News emphasizes the importance of the breast self-exam
during programming between the 1st and the 9th of every month. The
participants are encouraged to contact friends or family members
to conduct their self-exams.
This year, Bell Atlantic and Comverse Network Systems teamed up
to enhance the program by offering to send a free reminder message
from Andrea Roane, Channel 9's news anchor, to the Bell Atlantic
Home Voice Mail subscribers in the Washington Metropolitan area.
Participants do not have to be at home to receive the reminder.
In addition, it is easy for a voice mail subscriber to "forward"
the message to a friend with Home Voice Mail, at a nominal charge,
by just dialing their number following some prompts from the Home
Voice Mail service.
Bell Atlantic has begun an informational campaign for its Home Voice
Mail customers explaining how easy it is to participate in the BuddyCheck
9 program. " While October is Awareness Month, it is important
that women are reminded each month to do their examination."
said Meva Justice, the Bell Atlantic Product Manager responsible
for BuddyCheck 9. "We're pleased to be able to add a new capability
to this very worthwhile program," added Rich McCusker, the
Bell Atlantic Director for Home Voice Mail.
Voice mail has been misunderstood according to the TeleMessaging
Industry Association's Executive Director, Ellis Hill. "This
Bell Atlantic story is just one example of how voice mail has been
used positively. There have been many occasions when voice mail
has come to the aid of natural disaster victims during hurricanes,
tornado, floods, and earth quakes", said Hill. In cases where
homes were destroyed and telephones were ripped out, voice mail
continues to work in most cases since the equipment is protected
in telephone company buildings. This allows victims to put announcements
on their voice mail assuring family members that they are safe and
provides a means of communicating with the families until normal
service is restored.
A growing trend of more than 12% of US households use voice mail
today in their everyday lives to provide a reliable, flexible, communications
tool for everyone in the household. Hill says, "the reasons
for this growth are the new applications people are finding for
voice mail, such as the breast cancer awareness Buddy Check 9 program,
and a better understanding of voice mail capabilities such as finding
out that voice mail will answer calls even when you are on the phone.
This means you never miss a message."
The TMIA is actively recruiting members throughout the messaging
industry. Those interested are encouraged to call 205-995-8866 or
check the TMIA's web page at www.tmia.org.
Contact:
Ellis D. Hill, Executive Director
TeleMessaging Industry Association
4066 Somerset Ridge
Birmingham, AL 35242
Tel: 205-995-8866
Fax: 205-991-8143
Email: ellis@tmia.org
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