Orlando, Fla. – In special ceremonies at the 95th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the Avon Foundation and its president, Kathleen Walas, have been honored with the 2004 Public Service Award.

The citation gives special recognition to the Avon Foundation’s unique commitment to improve the health of women around the world. The Avon Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity and is an affiliate of Avon Products, Inc., which is regarded as a leader among international corporations in the fight against breast cancer. Since 1992, the Avon Foundation has awarded more than $300 million to breast cancer research and care organizations worldwide.

Kathleen Walas, an18-year veteran of Avon, has held numerous positions in corporate affairs and public relations. In addition to her leadership of the Foundation, she serves as Corporate Social Responsibility Officer for Avon Products. Prior to her Avon career, she ran her own business in the areas of corporate public relations, special events, advertising, employee communications and marketing to women.

In presenting the award to Walas, the AACR’s new president, Lynn Matrisian, Ph.D., said both the company and its foundation “have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to all aspects of the breast cancer cause, including research, prevention, early detection and support services, education, and access to quality care for poor and medically underserved women.”

The impact of the company’s Breast Cancer Crusade has been profoundly felt in the United States, Canada, and in some 50 countries. The Crusade, now in its second decade, has engaged Avon’s sales representatives, as well as the general public, worldwide as active partners in the breast cancer fight. As a result, Avon has created one of the largest corporate volunteer fundraising and breast cancer education organizations in the world.

“We are grateful to AACR for this prestigious award,” said Walas. “There still remains a great need for breast cancer funding, and we are proud to be playing our part in enabling more scientists to continue making great progress in eradicating breast cancer. Through our collaboration with AACR, we are fortunate to support young international investigators and advocates who might not otherwise have access to the resources required to explore novel approaches to the prevention, treatment and cure for this disease, and network with others in their field.”

Under Walas’ leadership, the Avon Foundation launched the AVON-AACR Global Collaborative for Breast Cancer Research and Education in 2002. A $2.8 million gift from the Avon Foundation facilitated the combination of the Avon Foundation’s existing commitment to the breast cancer cause with the AACR’s worldwide leadership within the scientific and advocacy communities, forging a new partnership to expand international education and patient advocacy, and accelerate progress toward preventing and curing breast cancer for all people. A special and unique focus on the collaboration is to support promising young investigators and advocates in scientifically underserved areas of the world, in particular Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America.

The Avon Foundation raises its funds through products sold by Avon sales representatives, walks, special events and other generous contributions, with funds awarded to leading cancer research centers and providers of cancer care, early detection, education and support services in the United States. Through its philanthropy, the Avon Foundation has forged important collaborative relationships with leading comprehensive cancer centers in the U.S. and many other direct service programs.

Internationally, the Avon Crusade supports programs in 50 countries, with each country developing its own programmatic focus.

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Founded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is a professional society of more than 22,000 laboratory and clinical scientists engaged in cancer research in the United States, Canada, and more than 60 other countries. AACR’s mission is to accelerate the prevention and cure of cancer through research, education, communication and advocacy. Its scholarly activities include the publication of five journals (Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Molecular Cancer Therapeutics). AACR’s annual meeting has more than 15,000 participants and features presentations of new and significant discoveries in the cancer field. AACR’s 10 specialty meetings cover all of the important areas of basic, translational and clinical cancer research.

The Avon Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity, was founded in 1955 with a mission to improve the lives of women. The Foundation supports programs that offer economic opportunity and provide care and research for breast cancer in the U.S. and around the world. Funding has been awarded for more than 11,000 grants and scholarships – totaling nearly $200 million – to benefit women and their families, globally. In 2004, expanded programs supporting the issue of domestic violence will be announced. The Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade began in the U.K. in 1992, and has expanded to 50 countries. The focus is on reaching the medically underserved population, with a mission to fund access to care and finding a cure for breast cancer. Funds are raised through a variety of programs, product sales and special events, including the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer series. To date the Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade has awarded more than $300 million to breast cancer research and care organizations worldwide. For more information, visit www.avonfoundation.org.