The Livestrong Foundation says it is bigger than its founder and it will survive past the scandal surrounding Lance Armstrong.
“I have to tell you that over the past months, I felt most indignant when our team’s credibility has been called into question as a result of something that had nothing to do with them," Andy Miller, the non-profit's vice president, said at the foundation's annual meeting today in Chicago.
Livestrong has faced a series of setbacks since October, when the U.S. Anti Doping Agency charged Lance Armstrong with doping.
Armstrong lost his seven Tour de France wins and big-name endorsements for products including Nike. He resigned his position as the chairman of the foundation and admitted doping in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in January.
More recently, the U.S. Justice Department joined Armstrong’s former teammate in a lawsuit against Armstrong over a $30 million contract he had with U.S. Postal Service.
Livestrong announced today that it’s changing the date of its annual Day of Action from Oct 2, the day in 1996 when Armstrong was diagnosed with cancer, to May 17, the day in 2004 when the charity launched its trademark yellow Livestrong bands, of which about 87 million have been sold.
"In many situations like ours, organizations might decide to hunker down and wait till the storm passes... this is a terrible way to deal with a moment of crisis," Miller said. "We see this as a moment of opportunity to advance the understanding of what we do and expand our impact."
