New York, November 8, 2004 – Women and men leading the breast cancer cause were honored tonight as part of the fourth annual Avon Foundation Kiss Goodbye to Breast Cancer Awards Celebration. The fundraising gala was held at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s new home, Frederick P. Rose Hall, in New York City. The event was co-hosted by Avon Products, Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Andrea Jung and Avon Foundation President, Kathleen Walas, who announced the newest milestone for the Avon Foundation: as of this year, the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade has raised and donated more than $350 million worldwide for access to care and finding a cure.

As part of the extraordinary celebration, the Kiss Goodbye to Breast Cancer Awards featured performances by two multi-platinum recording artists: award-winning singer and actor Harry Connick, Jr. and his Big Band, and Vanessa Carlton.

“I am proud to be part of the Avon Foundation awards celebration to tell the world that we can all get involved in the fight and work towards eradicating the disease,” said Connick, Jr. “My mother lost her battle to cancer when I was a young boy, and I know personally how the disease affects everyone, not just women. It impacts families and friends, and shatters lives, and with three daughters I have a special interest in eradicating breast cancer.”

Vanessa Carlton echoes these thoughts. “As a young woman, I know we are all at risk for breast cancer. It is important that everyone does their part, whether by raising funds, or awareness, or just taking care of their health and the health of those they love. I am proud to add my voice to tonight’s celebration.”

The 2004 Kiss Goodbye to Breast Cancer event raised $2.2 million for breast cancer research and care organizations. Since its inception in 2001, the annual event has raised well over $8 million. This year’s Kiss Goodbye to Breast Cancer Awards will recognize four leaders who have made a significant impact in the fight against breast cancer in their respective areas of expertise.

“We are proud to recognize remarkable leaders for their invaluable contributions to the breast cancer cause,” said Walas. “The Avon Breast Cancer Crusade has been a driving force in support of the breast cancer cause worldwide since 1992, and the more than $350 million we have raised so far has touched the lives of women and men in 50 countries around the world. The Avon Foundation will continue to champion the cause until we have reached our goal – to make the Crusade obsolete because we have eradicated breast cancer.”

The 2004 Kiss Goodbye to Breast Cancer honorees are:

• Medical Advancement
  Jonathan W. Simons, M.D., Director of the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, was honored with the Medical Advancement Award. A highly acclaimed investigator in translational cancer research, before coming to Emory in 2000, Dr. Simons was director of the Genetic Pharmacology Program and Cancer Gene Therapy Laboratory at The Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Simons is internationally recognized as a widely published and cited leader in molecular oncology of prostate cancer.
  
  In addition to his work with prostate cancer, Dr. Simons has been a tireless advocate for access to health care for all, and was instrumental in establishing the Avon Foundation Comprehensive Breast Center at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, which includes state-of-the-art imaging equipment, diagnostic and treatment services, genetic counseling and psychosocial-support services for the medically underserved. Dr. Simons has aggressively recruited some of this country’s most respected cancer clinicians and researchers to Atlanta and to Grady Hospital, including Dr. Otis Brawley, Associate Director of the Winship Cancer Institute, one of the world’s leading researchers in health disparities who came to Atlanta from the National Cancer Institute.

• Media Leadership
  Ann Curry, award-winning news anchor from the “Today Show” and NBC news correspondent, was honored with the Media Leadership Award in recognition of her impact on breast cancer awareness and education. Ann was personally touched by breast cancer when her sister was diagnosed with the disease in 1998, and since then she has dedicated personal and professional time to spreading awareness and education. Curry has addressed the issue of breast cancer at numerous public events, served on the board of national breast cancer organization, and has supported programs and organizations such as Women at Risk, the online breast cancer “Talking Dictionary,” breastcancer.org, and cancerandcareers.org. At present, she and her young daughter are making a personal contribution to the cause: both are growing their hair so it can be donated to an organization that provides wigs for cancer patients.
  
  Curry first joined NBC in 1990, has been the news anchor for NBC News’ Today since March 1997. She is also a contributing reporter for Dateline NBC. Among her many extraordinary assignments, Curry traveled to the Balkans in April 1999 to report on the refugee crisis in Kosovo, and immediately following the September 11 terrorist attacks she reported extensively from “ground zero.” Prior to joining NBC, Curry was a reporter with KCBS in Los Angeles and several NBC affiliates. She has earned three Emmy Awards, including one for her live coverage of the 1987 Los Angeles earthquake. She is also a four-time winner of the Golden Mike award, and has received several Associated Press Certificates of Excellence and an NAACP Award for Excellence in Reporting.

• Community Advocate
  Paul Boulanger was honored with the Community Advocate Award in recognition of his role as President and Founder of Boston-based Men with Heart (MWH), one of the first men’s groups in the country formed to fight breast cancer. Now with 73 members across the US, MWH supports breast cancer research, treatment, awareness, and prevention through a variety of activities, most notably participation in breast cancer walks. The organization describes itself as “husband, sons, brothers, friends, colleagues and neighbors who are doing something constructive rather than resigning ourselves to helplessness as those we care about courageously fight this insidious disease and, regrettably, sometimes lose the fight.”
  
  The idea for MWH developed in 2001 when Boulanger and his then-wife, a breast cancer survivor, participated in an Avon breast cancer walk and noted the dearth of male participants. The first MWH team was fielded in 2002, and since then, MWH has become an accredited public charity and raised over $300,000. In each walk, MWH are visible in their signature yellow shirts, leading group sing-a-longs and boisterous cheering, and offering everything from bandaids to chocolates from their ever-present backpacks. The impact of MWH is fourfold: they empower themselves to make a difference; support their loved ones; bring spirit and camaraderie to other walkers; and raise funds and awareness that will help save the lives.

• Pink Ribbon Crusader
  Dottie Randall, a Wilmington, Delaware-based Avon Leadership Sales Representative and Honor Society member, was honored with the Pink Ribbon Crusader Award in recognition of extraordinary efforts to raise breast cancer awareness through community involvement and fundraising via Avon Crusade pink ribbon product sales. Randall is a seven-year breast cancer survivor who continued to maintain her Avon business through chemotherapy and radiation, and she is now assisting her sister through her own breast cancer treatment. Randall has no known family history of breast cancer, and she found her a lump in her breast through self-exam. She has made it her goal to increase breast cancer awareness among all women and to help empower them to take an active role in their own health. She is a member of Quality Insights, a local organization that offers support group for cancer survivors, and MAMM, a program through the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition that reaches out to African-American women to encourage them to get mammograms.

About the Avon Foundation and Avon Breast Cancer Crusade

The Avon Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity, was founded in 1955 with a mission to improve the lives of women. Today, that mission is brought to life by raising funds and awareness for two key areas: women’s empowerment, including the issue of domestic violence; and the breast cancer cause, in support of access to care and finding a cure, with a focus on the medically underserved.

The Avon Breast Cancer Crusade launched in 1992, and Avon now supports breast cancer programs in 50 countries and has raised and awarded more than $350,000,000 worldwide. Funding supports five areas: awareness and education; screening and diagnosis; treatment; support services; and scientific research. Beneficiaries range from leading cancer centers to community-based non-profit breast health programs, creating a powerful international network of research, medical, social service and community-based organizations focused on defeating breast cancer and ensuring access to care. Breast cancer remains the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women globally, and in the US there is a new diagnosis every three minutes. More information http://www.avonfoundation.org/.