More than 2,300 participants in the July 8 and 9 Avon Walk for Breast Cancer San Francisco raised $5.4 million for the breast cancer cause.
Upon completion of this year's event, the
Avon Foundation announced eight grants to local organizations, including a $1 million grant to San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH). The grant to SFGH will continue support for the Avon Comprehensive Breast Care Center.
Funding will help SFGH to provide mobile mammography throughout San Francisco, support patient-navigation staff and provide genetic screening to uninsured women - the first program of its kind in the country. The grant also will allow SFGH to conduct research studies and enable women who are treated at SFGH to access novel breast cancer treatments and clinical trials.
Avon Walk participants had a choice of walking a marathon (26.2 miles) or a marathon and a half (39.3 miles). Walkers spent Saturday night in two-person tents at Crissy Field and completed the walk at a celebratory closing ceremony in Golden Gate Park. Each walker raised a minimum of $1,800 in donations.
 |
Judith Luce, MD, who walked in the event, accepts the $1million check on behalf of SFGH. Photo/Rachel Styer |
Funds are awarded to local, regional and national breast cancer organizations to support five priority areas: awareness and education, screening and diagnosis, access to treatment, support services and scientific research, all with a focus on the medically underserved.
To date, the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center and San Francisco General Hospital partnership has received more than $14 million from the Avon Foundation.
Through its Breast Cancer Crusade, Avon has supported breast cancer research and clinical programs in some 50 countries, with total funding through 2005 of more than $400 million. The San Francisco walk was the fifth of eight noncompetitive events in 2006; the campaign also includes events in Washington, DC, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New York and Charlotte.
Links:
New Avon Foundation Breast Center to Open at SFGH
