Los Angeles, CA --- More than 1,900 participants in this weekend’s fifth annual Avon Walk for Breast Cancer Los Angeles raised $4.3 million to advance access to care and finding a cure for breast cancer. At today’s Closing Ceremony at Queen Mary Events Park, Avon Foundation Executive Director Carol Kurzig announced five initial grants, with millions more slated to be awarded throughout the year. The initial grants are:

UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation (Los Angeles, CA) will receive $1,168,137 for research, fellowships, equipment and access to care. Specifically, this will encompass: breast cancer research and clinical trials that focus on improving treatment options for women with HER2+ breast cancer and women with triple-negative breast cancer; breast imaging fellowships; new, state-of-the-art equipment; and linking underserved women from UCLA’s partner organizations, such as from Olive View Medical Center and its related community clinics in San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys, to the world-class UCLA medical team.

With this grant, UCLA Jonsson becomes one of the eight current named Avon Foundation Centers of Excellence across the country. Individually and together, these leading cancer centers advance both pillars of the mission of the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade: access to care and finding a cure. Centers conduct breast cancer research across a wide spectrum of scientific topics, which offer the best opportunities in the fight against breast cancer, as well as deliver clinical care for medically underserved and uninsured women.

John Wayne Cancer Institute and the Center for Healthy Aging (Santa Monica, CA) will receive $275,000 to continue to support research at John Wayne and increase access to care in partnership with the Center for Healthy Aging, a collaboration created through Avon Foundation support in 2003.

Council of Community Clinics (San Diego, CA) will receive $250,000 to provide care coordination, screening mammogram and diagnostic services, referral to follow up, and breast health education and outreach to low-income, ethnically diverse, underserved women throughout San Diego, Imperial and Riverside Counties.

Clinica Msr. Oscar A. Romero (Los Angeles, CA) will receive $180,000 to provide intensive outreach and navigation services to underserved Latina populations in Los Angeles, to increase the number of screening mammograms and decrease delays in care.

Project Angel Food (Los Angeles, CA) will receive $100,000 to expand their meal and nutritional services program to breast cancer clients and their families in greater Los Angeles County. More than 27,000 meals will serve 75 breast cancer client families over the next year.

About the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer

During the Avon Walk Los Angeles, walkers had a choice of walking a marathon (26.2 miles) or a marathon and a half (39.3 miles) over the weekend. The event kicked off early in the morning of Saturday, September 15, with an inspiring Opening Ceremony at Queen Mary Events Park, which included an immediate reminder of the impact of breast cancer through the remarks of three-time breast cancer survivor Shonte Henderson,40, of Belleflower, Calif.

“I hope that the people of Southern California who saw us walking this weekend will see our determination and spirit and be inspired to take action and to raise more money for more prevention, more research and more available services to those who do not have them,” Henderson said, “Because there is still a lot to be done before everyone diagnosed with breast cancer can survive.”

Following the Opening Ceremony, walkers began their journey and were supported by a volunteer crew every step of the way, buoyed by cheering stations of family, supporters, local residents and the staff of funded organizations such as the John Wayne Cancer Institute and UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center. After completing the first day of walking, encompassing either a marathon or half marathon, participants spent Saturday night in two-person tents in the Avon Walk “Wellness Village” at El Dorado East Regional Park, complete with hot showers, prepared meals and live entertainment. On Sunday, September 16, walkers completed another half marathon (13.1 miles), ending back at Queen Mary Events Park where they were greeted by thousands of family and friends who shared in a celebratory and moving Closing Ceremony.

To participate in the Avon Walk Los Angeles, each walker raised a minimum of $1,800 in donations, which is managed and disbursed by the Avon Foundation [a 501(c)(3) public charity]. Funds raised by participants of the Avon Walks are awarded to local, regional and national breast cancer organizations to support five areas of the breast cancer cause, including awareness and education, screening and diagnosis, access to treatment, support services, and scientific research, all with a focus on the medically underserved.

Donations are still being accepted for the Avon Walk Los Angeles, and registration is open for the remaining 2007 Walks: New York (October 6-7); and Charlotte, NC (October 20-21), as well as for the Avon Walk 2008 series. Already completed are the 2007 Avon Walks for Breast Cancer Washington, DC; Boston; Chicago; Denver; and San Francisco.

From 2003 through 2006, the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer series raised more than $150 million. To register, donate or for additional information, please visit www.avonwalk.org or call 800-510-WALK.

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The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer thanks National Sponsor: Prevention Magazine; Official Sponsors: Airplus for her, Genentech BioOncology, Novartis Oncology and Reebok; and Official Water: FIJI.

Remember: early detection can help save lives. Schedule your mammogram or clinical breast exam today. For more breast cancer information and resources, visit www.cancer.org (keyword breast cancer) or www.avonfoundation.org, where you can access free printable breast cancer informational literature.