NEW YORK – September 21, 2003 – At the final closing ceremony of the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, held today at 4:00 p.m. at the South Street Seaport, Kathleen Walas, president, Avon Foundation, awarded gifts totaling $1,000,000 to CancerCare, Inc. and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. The gifts represent a portion of the funds raised by the walkers of the Avon Walk New York event. Additional gifts from Avon Walk funds will be announced in the future.

The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer New York was the last in the series of eight weekend events held through September this year. Some 2,200 women and men took part in the event, walking 39 miles and serving as crew members to raise funds and awareness for access to care and finding a cure for breast cancer.

The Avon Walk New York began early Saturday morning, September 20 at the South Street Seaport. Until dusk, walkers traveled the route towards the Wellness Village in Ward’s Island Park on Randall’s Island, where participants camped out overnight and enjoyed relaxing and relevant activities, including yoga, massage and entertainment. The Village also provided the essentials to keep participants comfortable, including sleeping tents, hot showers, prepared meals and comprehensive medical services. A section of the Wellness Village also was open to participants’ friends and family and the general public. Today, all walkers completed the final 13.1 miles of the route, returning to their point of origin – South Street Seaport – for the closing ceremony celebration. Throughout the weekend, a dedicated all-volunteer crew cared for the walkers, ensuring their safety and supporting their needs.

About the Avon Foundation Gifts
New York City-based CancerCare, Inc. was awarded a $500,000 gift to continue the national “AVONCares” Program for Medically Underserved Women to provide financial assistance to women with breast cancer, such as transportation, an escort, and elder- or childcare so that they may complete their course of treatment and get the services they need. Women assisted by the “AVONCares” program are able to receive CancerCare’s other services, including professional counseling, education and information, breast prostheses and wigs.

A $300,000 gift was made in support of the “Every Patient Counts” program, a host of patient advocacy and navigation services to be delivered at the Avon Foundation Breast Imaging Center, now under construction as a part of the new Herbert Irving Cancer Research Building at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in Washington Heights. Personnel to be hired with these funds, such as social workers and nurse practitioners, will work closely with medical staff to ensure that underserved women will receive timely, high quality care following screening for breast cancer. The dedication and opening of the new imaging center is expected in April 2004.

An award of $200,000 will support “Avon Scholar” Dr. Regina Santella and her research into the environmental and genetic susceptibility factors associated with the causation of breast cancer, with a particular focus on the high incidence of breast cancer in the Long Island and Greater Metropolitan area. Dr. Santella is a leading scientist at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, who heads a collaborative of scientists who have been working for several years on the problems of high incidence rates on Long Island. They, in turn, work collaboratively with local community groups and breast cancer advocacy organizations. The Avon Foundation made a similar gift earlier this year to Marin Breast Cancer Watch in northern California, to address the problem of extremely high incidence rates in Marin County and the San Francisco Greater Metropolitan Area.

"This new gift will enable us to extend the much-needed services of the AVONCares program to women who have nowhere else to turn,” said Diane Blum, Executive Director, CancerCare. "Because all CancerCare services are free, we are able to provide a wide range of help to women who are coping with a breast cancer diagnosis, along with financial difficulty.”

"On behalf of the patients and staff of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, I thank the Avon Foundation for these extraordinary gifts that once again demonstrate their commitment to supporting breast cancer research, prevention, diagnosis and treatment for all women,” said Dr. Herbert Pardes, President and CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. "The Avon Foundation's outstanding record of generosity and advocacy have set a standard in the fight against breast cancer and have undoubtedly brought us closer to the day when this disease is eradicated.”

"We are pleased to provide the medically underserved population in New York City and throughout the tri-state area, as well as nationwide, with quality breast cancer care, treatment and support,” said Kathleen Walas, president, Avon Foundation. "For as long as there is a need, Avon is committed to funding access to care for all women and finding a cure for breast cancer.”

Several tri-state area organizations, including the Cancer Research Institute; Hartford Hospital; International Black Women’s Congress (Newark, NJ); Passaic Beth Israel Hospital; Charles B. Wang Community Health Center (New York), among others, are beneficiaries of the Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade.

About the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer
The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer is a series of outdoor, non-competitive fundraising events structured for all fitness levels, offering participants a choice of completing a marathon walk (26.2 miles) or a marathon and a half (39.3 miles) over a weekend. 2003 walkers are required to raise a minimum of $1,750 to participate, and are fully supported by an all-volunteer crew. 2003 national sponsors include: FIJI Water, health magazine and RYKÄ, footwear for women. Medical services for the Avon Walk New York event are provided by volunteer medical sponsor NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

The Avon Walks are produced by the Avon Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity, which also manages and disburses the funds raised. All 100% of the net proceeds from the Avon Walks are returned to the breast cancer cause nationwide to support awareness, screening and diagnosis, treatment, support services and scientific research. Beneficiaries range from leading cancer centers to community-based non-profit breast health programs, with a focus on reaching the medically underserved and a mission to fund access to care and finding a cure for breast cancer.

For more than a decade, the Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade has been raising significant funds and awareness for the breast cancer cause. In 10 years, the Avon Crusade has returned an unprecedented $250,000,000 to breast cancer research and care organizations worldwide. Funds are raised through a wide variety of special events, product sales, walks, runs, concerts and other marketing initiatives worldwide.

The 2003 Avon Walk for Breast Cancer Events included: Washington, D.C., Boston, MA, Cincinnati, OH, Chicago, IL, San Francisco, CA, Portland, OR, Los Angeles, CA, and New York, NY.

2003 Avon Walk for Breast Cancer Event Schedule (in chronological order):
 

Washington, D.C., April 26-27	May 1-2, 2004
Boston, MA, May 3-4	May 15-16, 2004
Chicago, IL, June 7-8	June 5-6, 2004
San Francisco, CA	July 10-11, 2004
Los Angeles, CA	September 11-12, 2004
New York, NY	October 2-3, 2004

To register to walk or crew, or to pledge financial support for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, visit www.avonwalk.org or call 1-877-WALK AVON for more information.  
 

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