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Avon Breast Health Outreach Program awards grant to ACCESS Community Health & Research Center

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DEARBORN, Mich./March 6, 2014— The Avon Breast Health Outreach Program recently awarded a $60,000 one-year grant to the ACCESS Community Health and Research Center (CHRC) to increase awareness of the life-saving benefits of early detection of breast cancer. This is the 16th year that the CHRC has received funding from the Avon Foundation for Women to support its work on this important health issue.

Through community engagement, the Breast Cancer Outreach Project at ACCESS breaks down the educational, logistical and financial barriers that prevent many women from obtaining breast or cervical cancer screenings. The program offers low-cost or free mammograms and clinical breast exams to women over 40 in their communities, with special focus on Arab Americans.

Since 1997, the Breast Cancer Outreach Project at ACCESS has helped more than 27,000 women by providing information about the importance of early detection of breast cancer and has referred nearly 23,000 women for mammograms and clinical breast exams.

“Many barriers, such as cultural inhibitions toward cancer, fear, transportation and language, or lack of a doctor’s recommendation, prevent women from practicing good breast health,” said Dr. Adnan Hammad, senior director of the ACCESS CHRC. “There is a tremendous need to reach women with information and resources. We are grateful that the Avon Foundation for Women shares this mission and has chosen to support our program. This grant came in time, with us experiencing a large influx of Iraqi and Syrian refugees. This grant will help refugees and immigrants who are at risk with education and early detection services.”

The Avon Foundation has awarded $76 million, through more than 1,600 Avon Breast Health Outreach (BHOP) grants, to community-based organizations across the United States.

BACKGROUND ON THE AVON FOUNDATION

The Avon Foundation for Women and Breast Cancer Crusade

The Avon Foundation for Women, an accredited 501(c)(3) public charity, was founded in 1955 to improve the lives of women, and today is the world’s largest corporate-affiliated philanthropy focused on issues that matter most to women. The Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, which launched in 1992 and is led by the U.S.-based Avon Foundation for Women, has placed Avon and the Avon Foundation for Women at the forefront of the fight against breast cancer; today, Avon is the leading corporate supporter of the cause globally.

Avon breast cancer programs in more than 50 countries have donated more than $815 million for research and advancing access to care, regardless of a person’s ability to pay. Avon awards funding to beneficiaries ranging from leading cancer centers to community-based grassroots breast health programs to support breast cancer research and access to care.

The Crusade has enabled more than 18 million women globally to receive free mammograms and breast cancer screenings, educated more than 145 million women about breast cancer, and funded promising research into the causes of breast cancer and ways to prevent the disease.

The Avon Foundation raises funds for the Crusade through the sale of Avon “Pink Ribbon” products, and through events such as the U.S. Avon Walk for Breast Cancer series, which is the Avon Foundation’s largest fundraising event. Visit www.avonfoundation.org for more information.

The Avon Breast Health Outreach Program

The Avon Breast Health Outreach Program is administered by Cicatelli Associates Inc. to support community-based, nonprofit breast health programs across the country. The fund's National Advisory Board selected the Breast Cancer Outreach Project at the ACCESS Community Health and Research Center as one of 58 recipients nationwide in the 2014 cycle of Avon Breast Health Outreach Program grants. These organizations were chosen based on their ability to effectively reach women, particularly minority, low-income, and older women, who are often medically underserved.

For more information

For more information about the Breast Cancer Outreach Project at the ACCESS Community Health and Research Center, call Hiam Hamade, RN, MPH, at 313-216-2206.

For more information about breast cancer, contact the American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345 or www.cancer.org, or the National Cancer Institute at 1-800-4-CANCER or www.cancer.gov.

To learn more about the Avon Foundation for Women, call 1-866-505-AVON or visit www.avonfoundation.org. For information or to register or support the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, visit www.avonwalk.org or call 1-800-510-WALK.