SEATTLE — Augu. 11, 2002 — At Closing Ceremonies today of the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day Seattle, the Avon Foundation announced a $1.25 million gift to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center for the Avon Breast Cancer Immunotherapy Research Initiative. The announcement was made by Teddi Jacobson of the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade.
The 2002 Avon Foundation gift of $1.25 million will be allocated toward a focused collaborative effort to investigate the immunobiology of breast cancer and to develop immune-based therapies for breast cancer. The initiative will also enhance and expand activities in breast cancer research directed at vaccine development and specific immunotherapy. The funds were raised by the programs of the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, including the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Days.
"We are extremely grateful to the Avon Foundation for this second gift," stated Lee Hartwell, president and director of Fred Hutchinson. "Their generous support, which is in addition to the $2.5 million we received last year, will allow us to support three developmental research projects, based on promising preliminary data, identified as having a high potential for future translation to clinical trials. It will also enable us to bring young scientists into the field of breast cancer immunotherapy by supporting a fellowship in immunology."
"Avon is proud to provide additional funding to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to support their outstanding work," stated Ms. Jacobson. "The citizens of the Seattle area benefit from the quality care they deliver, and the entire nation will benefit from their research initiatives."
The Avon Breast Cancer Crusade: Funding Access to Care and Finding a Cure
Funds generated annually through the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade fundraising initiatives are disbursed by the Avon Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) charity, to support five vital areas of the breast cancer cause: medical research; clinical care; support services; educational seminars and advocacy training; and community-based breast health programs nationwide. Distinctive from other corporate funding, gifts from the Avon Foundation have a special focus on medically underserved populations, including low-income, elderly, minority, under- and un-insured women, who have been traditionally left behind by the health care system. Avon's philanthropic strategy represents a significant effort to reverse historical disparities in health care, most notably in breast cancer care, by making outreach to the medically underserved women, providing them with state-of-the-art care, and including them in clinical trials.
Launched in 1993 in the U.S., the mission of the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade is to fund access to care and finding a cure for breast cancer by funding medical research into the possible prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure of breast cancer, and providing women, particularly those who are medically underserved, with access to breast cancer education, early detection screening services, clinical care and support services. Details can be found at www.avoncrusade.com.
From 1993 through mid-year 2002, the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade generated $200,000,000 net in the U.S. through many fundraising initiatives. In addition to the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Days, which launched in 1998, these fundraising initiatives include the year-round sale of pink ribbon products by Avon independent sales representatives, global programs such as the Avon Kiss Goodbye to Breast Cancer Campaign, special events, local fundraising programs and direct online donations. The Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day Seattle is one of 13 Avon 3-Days taking place this year. In 2003, a new series of Avon Walks for Breast Cancer will launch in eight cities, taking place from April to September. All proceeds are managed and disbursed by the Avon Foundation.
Avon Foundation Beneficiaries
In addition to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the Avon Foundation has awarded major gifts for research and clinical care to 10 leading cancer centers across the country, including five "flagship" centers: Northwestern University/Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center (Chicago); Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center of the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center (New York City); Harvard Comprehensive Cancer Center/Massachusetts General Hospital; The Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University School of Medicine and the Grady Health System (Atlanta); and University of California, San Francisco Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The Avon Foundation has also awarded funds to service organizations and breast health and diagnostic programs nationwide, such as Cancer Care, Inc. (based in New York City); Food & Friends (Washington, DC); Howard University Cancer Center (Washington, DC); Iris Cantor Center for Breast Imaging at UCLA Medical Center (Los Angeles); "Rise Sister Rise(tm)" of Breast Cancer Resource Committee (Washington, DC); and more than 600 community-based non-profit breast health programs.
In October 2001, the Avon Foundation awarded an unprecedented $20,000,000 gift to co-fund the Avon-NCI "Progress for Patients" award program in partnership with the National Cancer Institute to accelerate and expand translational breast cancer research and clinical trials. Funding will be awarded to U.S. scientists who compete successfully for the awards, with the first round of funding to be announced in September 2002.
Avon and the Avon Worldwide Fund for Women's Health
The Avon Breast Cancer Crusade in the U.S. is the largest program of the Avon Worldwide Fund for Women's Health, which was launched in 1992 to support programs for breast cancer and other vital women's health issues. Avon now supports programs in 47 countries to help break barriers to women's health. Avon Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andrea Jung has pledged to reach $250,000,000 in total worldwide funds raised by the end of 2002.
Media Contacts
Renee Klein
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
(206) 878-1231
Mary McBride
Avon Products, Inc.
(212) 282-5664
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Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, home of two Nobel Prize laureates, is an independent, nonprofit research institution dedicated to the development and advancement of biomedical technology to eliminate cancer and other potentially fatal diseases. Fred Hutchinson receives more funding from the National Institutes of Health than any other independent U.S. research center. Recognized internationally for its pioneering work in bone-marrow transplantation, the center's four scientific divisions collaborate to form a unique environment for conducting basic and applied science. Fred Hutchinson, in collaboration with its clinical and research partners, the University of Washington Academic Medical Center and Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in the Pacific Northwest and is one of 38 nationwide. For more information, visit the center's Web site at www.fhcrc.org.
Avon Products, Inc.
Avon is the world's leading direct seller of beauty and related products, with approximately $6.0 billion in annual revenues. For more than a century Avon has provided women with economic opportunity, and the company currently markets to women in 143 countries through 3.5 million independent sales Representatives. Avon is actively committed to women's health and empowerment through the Avon Foundation, the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade and the Avon Worldwide Fund for Women's Health. Product lines include such recognizable brands as Anew, Skin-So-Soft, Advance Techniques Hair Care, beComing and Avon Wellness. The company also markets an extensive line of fashion jewelry, apparel, gifts and collectibles. More information on Avon and its products and programs can be found on the company's website http://www.avon.com.