WASHINGTON (March 28, 2013) – Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the world’s leading breast cancer organization, today announced $1.5 million in new D.C.-area community health grants at an event that also marked the kickoff of a new partnership with the NFL Players’ Association (NFLPA).
Washington Redskins’ wide receiver Josh Morgan and Arrelious Benn, a District native now with the Philadelphia Eagles, were on hand at today’s event to announce their support of the May 11 Komen Global Race through the NFLPA’s “One Team for the Cure” initiative.
Komen’s Global Race, ordinarily held in June, is being moved to Mother’s Day weekend and will be held on Saturday, May 11. This year’s theme, appropriately, is “Make Mom Proud.”
“My godmother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009. Watching her courageously fight this disease every day since then has opened my eyes and made me want to help raise awareness,” said Morgan. “Life is precious, and there are a lot of strong, beautiful women fighting for their lives every day. By serving as a Global Race Local Ambassador, I am supporting breast cancer survivors—those still fighting – and the mission to find a cure.”
Komen’s Global Race supports programs for low-income, uninsured and vulnerable women in the District, Northern Virginia and Maryland. This year’s new grants bring to $33 million the amount that Komen has invested in community health programs in the region since starting the D.C. Global Race for the Cure in 1990.
D.C. has one of the highest breast cancer death rates in the nation, making it imperative that Komen continue to fund programs that reach low-income, uninsured and under-insured women in the region. Komen grants (see full list below) are targeted to women in the District, Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties in Maryland and Northern Virginia.
“We can substantially improve breast cancer outcomes when we ensure that women, particularly those who are low-income, uninsured, or under-insured, get access to high-quality care,” said Dorothy Jones, Komen vice president of Marketing, in welcoming NFLPA to the Komen team. “Komen has made it possible to reach more than 115,000 women, and to screen another 40,000, through community outreach programs here in the National Capital area.”
One Komen grantee is the George Washington University Cancer Institute, whose Cancer Survivorship Initiative seeks to improve treatment outcomes by ensuring that women have access to medical care before, during and after their treatment. The GWCI Patient Navigation Network has helped 4,000 women through medical treatment. Its Survivorship Initiative has reached almost 1,000 low-income and uninsured women throughout the area, with screenings and support through breast cancer treatment, according to Mandi Pratt-Chapman, associate director of Community Programs for GWCI. “Komen’s commitment to the women of this region is making a real difference,” she said.
“I am tremendously grateful for the patient navigation services I received while being treated at the GW Cancer Institute,” said Mary Pascale, a local survivor of aggressive, Stage 3 triple negative breast cancer. “The Citywide Survivorship Initiative helped me so much during a time that I truly needed the support so I could focus on beating breast cancer. Their compassionate staff helped me with everything from scheduling and insurance challenges to assisting in communication with my treatment team — it made all the difference in my care. Funds raised through the Global Race will allow Komen to sustain funding for these lifesaving initiatives.”
List of total 2013 National Capital Area Community Grants:
New 2013 Grants
Arlington Clinic
From Screening to Survivorship - Enhancing Continuity of Care for Low Income Arlington Women
Arlington, VA
CASA de Maryland
Latino Cancer Prevention and Control Program
Prince George’s County
Nueva Vida
Nueva Vida, Culturally Competent Education, Access to Care, and Survivorship Support for Latinas
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia
Prevent Cancer Foundation
Celebremos la vida & Campeonas contra el cáncer de seno: Breast Cancer Education & Screening
Arlington County, VA, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
Ethiopian Community Development Services, Inc.
Project KNOW - Knowledge for Newcomer Women
Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland
Muslim Community Center
January 1, 2013-December 31, 2014
Washington, D.C., Maryland
Alexandria Neighborhood Health Services, Inc
Access to Breast Health: Education, Screening and Treatment to Improve Patient Outcomes
Alexandria City, Arlington and Fairfax Counties, Virginia
Grants continuing through from 2012
Howard University Cancer Center
Women of Promise
Washington, D.C. Wards 7 and 8
Capital City Area Health Education Center Inc. (CC AHEC)
D.C. Pink Divas
Washington, D.C. Ward 8
Boat People SOS, Inc.
Health Awareness and Promotion Program – Breast Cancer (HAPP- Breast Cancer)
Arlington & Fairfax VA, Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties MD
Primary Care Coalition of Montgomery County, Inc.
National Capital Area Breast Health Quality Consortium: Developing a Reliable System for High-Quality Breast Health Care for the National Capital Area’s Low-income, Uninsured Women
Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties, MD
Doctors Community Hospital (DCH)
The Prince George’s County Continuum of Breast Care
Prince George’s County, MD
George Washington University
Cancer Survivorship Initiative (CSI)
Washington, D.C. Wards 7 and 8 and Prince George’s County, MD
D.C. Cancer Consortium
D.C. Breast Cancer Surveillance System
Washington, D.C.
2012 National Capital Area Special Initiative Grants
Greater Baden Medical Services, Inc.
Prince George’s/Ward 7&8-Community Breast Health Link
Prince George’s County and Washington, D.C. Wards 7 and 8
Howard University Cancer Center
CONNECTEDCare
Prince George’s County and Washington, D.C. Wards 7 and 8
Grants continuing through from 2011
Providence Health Foundation
Komen Accelerating Breast Cancer Diagnosis Project
Washington, D.C., Wards 7and 8
Adventist HealthCare
Navigate to Health: Rapid Referral Program
Prince George’s County
