Charlotte, NC, October 2009 — The 2009 Avon Walk for Breast Cancer season concluded with the Avon Walk Charlotte this weekend, which raised more than $2.3 million to advance access to care and finding a cure for breast cancer. The Avon Walk Charlotte is the final of nine Avon Walks this year, and the event attracted more than 1,100 participants drawn from 4 countries and 39 states plus Washington, DC. Among the participants were 114 breast cancer survivors and 138 men, who joined together to raise lifesaving funds and awareness for breast cancer.

During the Closing Ceremony festivities at Frazier Park, Lisa Middleton, a three-and-a-half-year breast cancer survivor who traveled from Houston, TX to take part in the Avon Walk Charlotte, shared her powerful and uplifting words with the crowd.

“Some things in the world are universal – like love, the power of healing and the will to survive,” noted Middleton. “We walked this weekend for those who were too sick to walk for themselves, for those who will one day be diagnosed and for those we have lost. So to my survivor sisters here in Charlotte, across the globe in Bangkok and in every other nation on earth, know that we stand together and we will be victorious in our fight against breast cancer.”

Mark Hurlbert, Director, Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, presented a total of $750,000 in initial grants to four local organizations, ensuring that the funds raised immediately benefit the community, with a special focus on helping the medically underserved. Additional grants are slated to be awarded throughout the year to breast cancer programs nationwide.

“We are so pleased with the continued success of the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer Charlotte in this, our fifth year here,” said Hurlbert. “The ongoing support and generosity of the participants and the community allows us to make substantial new grants that will benefit those facing breast cancer, not only in the Charlotte area, but nationwide. In this year of economic challenges, the funds raised are especially meaningful.”

Initial new grants awarded by the Avon Foundation for Women, include:

• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC) was awarded $300,000 for a research project that hopes to identify differences in the biomarkers present in healthy breast tissue adjacent to breast cancer and will research how these markers vary within and between individuals. The hope is that this research can help doctors understand who is at highest risk for breast cancer recurrence. The grant was accepted by Dr. Melissa Troester.
• Clemson University (Clemson, SC) was awarded $195,000 to support a research project that seeks to develop new ways to improve reconstructive surgery following a lumpectomy with a novel application of drugs to reduce tumor recurrence or metastases. The grant was accepted by Martha Beasley, from the office of the Provost.
• Duke University (Durham, NC) was awarded $130,000 to support outreach to underserved and low income women in the Raleigh, Greensboro, and Charlotte communities and to provide patient navigation services to women diagnosed with breast cancer. Prior Avon funding was instrumental in Duke’s securing approval as a North Carolina State Breast and Cervical Cancer Program provider, which means that women participating in the free screening program are then eligible for State funded follow-up and treatment services. The grant was accepted by Dr. Vicky Seewaldt, Director of Duke’s Breast Cancer Prevention Program.
• Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston, SC) was awarded $125,000 to support a patient navigation program that improves access to screening, diagnostics and treatment for underserved populations in the Charleston area. The grant was accepted by Dr. Megan Baker.

During the Avon Walk Charlotte, which is a noncompetitive event, women and men 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 Saturday, October 24th, with an early morning Opening Ceremony in Frazier Park. Following the Ceremony, walkers began their journey, traveling through the Charlotte Area and concluding at the Avon Walk “Wellness Village” at Park Ridge Park, a “tent city” complete with two-person tents, hot meals, showers, yoga, medical services, the Post Selects “Spaaaah Zone,” the new “Tomboy Tools Tool School 101” demonstrations and live entertainment.

On Sunday, October 25th walkers completed another 13.1 miles together, ending back in Frazier Park, where they were greeted at the finish line by thousands of family and friends. The day concluded with a celebratory and moving Closing Ceremony, which included the awarding of initial new grants.

To participate in the Avon Walk Charlotte, each walker raised a minimum of $1,800 in donations. Funds raised are managed and disbursed by the Avon Foundation for Women [a 501(c)(3) public charity] and 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 Charlotte, and registration is open for the 2010 Avon Walk season. The 2009 season consisted of the Avon Walks for Breast Cancer Houston, Washington, D.C., Boston, Chicago, Rocky Mountains, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Charlotte.

To register, donate or for additional information, please visit www.avonwalk.org or call 800-541-WALK. For information on the Avon Foundation visit www.avonfoundation.org.

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The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer thanks National Sponsor: Reebok; and Official Sponsors: Genentech BioOncology and Tomboy Tools and Official Cereal Post Selects.

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.