Avon Walk 2007 - SF Press Release

Hey all,
Just wanted to shoot an email with the stats from your walk. The amount announced at Closing was wrong! You all raised $5.7 million!!! The grants awarded at Closing are also listed below. Congrats on you amazing accomplishments!!! We'll send another email with more details and info about the reunion picnic in Healdburg soon.

Best and huge hot pink hottie hugs to you all,
Linda


More than 2,400 women and men took part in the fifth annual Avon Walk for
Breast Cancer in San Francisco this past weekend and raised $5.7 million to
advance access to care and finding a cure for breast cancer. An annual
tradition continued as the San Jose police department once again showed
their support by biking alongside the walkers throughout the weekend.
Avon 's commitment to the cause and news of the event was shared by very
strong media coverage, including The San Francisco Chronicle, ABC, CBS,
FOX, NBC, KRON, Univision and other news outlets.

The celebratory Closing Ceremony took place at Speedway Meadow in Golden
Gate Park , where Carol Kurzig, Executive Director, Avon Foundation,
announced the following nine initial grants, with additional funds to be
awarded throughout the year:

San Francisco General Hospital / University of California - San Francisco
( San Francisco , Calif. ) received $1.25 million for the Avon Comprehensive
Breast Care Center , which was created through past grants. New funds will
support program staff, a Stereotactic Biopsy table, expansion of a
high-risk clinic from a pilot program to a prospective clinical trial,
enhancement of community outreach efforts and instituting a survivor
program to engage women served by the Avon Comprehensive Breast Care
Center.

Marin County Department of Health ( San Rafael , Calif. ) was awarded $400,000
to support the Marin Women's Study focused on breast cancer risk, with the
goal to validate a new assay that measures hormone levels in saliva and to
design a new risk algorithm that links association between breast density,
age at first full term pregnancy and circulating hormone levels.

Women's Cancer Resource Center ( Oakland , Calif. ) was granted $225,000 to
further community outreach, education and navigation services to women
facing cancer in the underserved communities of the East Bay area.

Alameda County Health Care Foundation ( Oakland , Calif. ) received $215,000
to continue support of the Pathfinders Outreach and Cancer Navigation
program, which provides outreach to unscreened populations in the East Bay
Area. This program aims to increase the number of low-income,
multi-cultural women who are screened and to improve the quality of care
offered to underserved women by providing outreach to unscreened
populations and navigation for all women referred for breast evaluation.

Cancer Resource Center of Mendocino County (CRCM) ( Mendocino , Calif. ) was
awarded $200,000 to support two initiatives: incorporating findings from
its "Consultation Support for Diverse, Rural Breast Patients" into CRCM's
core decisions support programming for 135 breast cancer survivors, family
members and caregivers; and supporting the development of training
curriculum for rural patient navigation and pilot it in two rural
communities.

Contra Costa Health Services ( Martinez , Calif. ) received $200,000 to
continue support of patient navigation and case management services for
low-income, uninsured and underserved women, with special emphasis on
African American women, Spanish-speaking women and other non-English
speaking women. These funds will help to increase the number of women
obtaining breast health services by 500; increase the number of women
navigated by 5%; and, reduce the time between breast cancer diagnosis and
the start of treatment from 2 months to 1 month.

Project Open Hand ( San Francisco , Calif. ) was granted $200,000 to support
the expansion of Project Open Hand's Homebound Critically Ill Program that
provides meals and education program for breast cancer patients and other
critically ill patients. The goals are to increase the number of unique,
unduplicated breast cancer family clients annually; expand outreach to the
local breast cancer community; and fully implement and expand the new
grocery program.

Zero Breast Cancer ( San Rafael , Calif. ) was awarded $150,000 to support a
program to build community capacity and engagement in research projects,
public education initiative and advocacy efforts focused on the prevention
of breast cancer in understudied and at-risk communities.

Communities for a Better Environment ( Oakland , Calif ) received $125,000 to
support the expansion of a community research project entitled "Linking
Breast Cancer Advocacy and Environmental Justice: Household Exposure
Study." This includes conducting a door-to-door community health survey
targeting 200 homes in the East Bay . The study will also examine
neighborhood data on mammography screening, the number of breast cancer
cases and access to breast health information.

The next Avon Walk will be Sept. 15-16 in Los Angeles .

Help build on the momentum and make 2007 the most successful Avon Walk
series yet by joining with associates, friends and family members and
becoming a member of Team Avon.There are many ways to become a member of
Team Avon.You can register as a walker or crew member, contribute a few
hours of your time by volunteering or cheering for the walkers along the
route, or pledge financial support for any of this year's events. To learn
more about Team Avon, send an e-mail to Karen Asare of the Avon Foundation
at karen.asare@avonfoundation.org or call tieline 3465 ext. 5624.

Donations are still being accepted for the Avon Walk San Francisco and
registration is open for the remaining three events taking place nationwide
through October. For more information about the series, to register to
walk, crew, volunteer or pledge financial support, visit www.avonwalk.org
or call 800-510-WALK.

The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer is a series of noncompetitive events
produced by the Avon Foundation (a 501(c)(3) public charity,) which offers
women and men of all fitness levels a choice of walking a marathon (26.2
miles) or a marathon and a half (39.3 miles) over a weekend. An
all-volunteer crew provides support every step of the way. From 2003 to
2006 the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer series raised more than $150 million.
For more information about the Avon Foundation, visit
www.avonfoundation.org.

Remember: early detection helps save lives. Schedule your mammogram or
clinical breast exam today. For more breast cancer information, visit
www.cancer.org (keyword breast cancer).