November 21, 2008

Contact:
Jennifer Berman
NYU Cancer Institute
NYU Langone Medical Center
Jennifer.Berman@nyumc.org

SIXTH ANNUAL EVENT WELCOMES 4,500 PARTICIPANTS;
AWARDS GRANTS TO LOCAL BREAST CANCER ORGANIZATIONS

New York, October 5, 2008 - The sixth annual Avon Walk for Breast Cancer season continued with the Avon Walk New York this weekend, which raised $11.5 million to advance access to care and finding a cure for breast cancer. The Avon Walk New York was the largest Avon Walk to date, with 4,500 participants drawn from 47 states, including 409 breast cancer survivors, who joined together to raise lifesaving funds and awareness for breast cancer.

At the event's Closing Ceremony at Pier 84, Carol Kurzig, Executive Director of the Avon Foundation, announced a total of nearly $13 million in local and national grants awarded to breast cancer organizations, ensuring that the funds raised by the Avon Walks immediately benefit the community.

"We are thrilled with the continued success of the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer New York in this, our sixth year," stated Kurzig. "The ongoing support and generosity of the participants and the community allows us to make substantial new grants that will benefit those facing breast cancer not only in the New York area, but across the region and country. New York has been the largest Walk each year, and this year's event set new records for participants and funds raised."

Grants awarded by the Avon Foundation at the Closing Ceremony were:

Avon Foundation Breast Care Fund (New York, NY) will receive $7,000,000 to be disbursed as grants to more than 130 non-profit community based organizations across the country. These programs will collectively navigate 100,000 women next year into mammography screening and educate 500,000 on breast health and early detection.

Cancer Care (New York, NY) will receive $1,500,000 to continue the support of access care through the AvonCares program, which is a national financial assistance program that helps low-income, underserved women gain access to care. The program launched in 2000 and has already provided direct financial assistance to more than 36,000 low-income breast cancer patients, reaching 85% of all US counties and all 50 states.

NYU Cancer Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center (New York, NY) will receive $1,400,000 to continue their research to better understand how the changes in a healthy breast during pregnancy affect the risk of breast cancer. This is one of fourteen grants that the Avon Foundation has given towards breast cancer prevention initiatives focused on the impact of pregnancy and breast cancer risk.

New York Presbyterian-Columbia University Medical Center (New York, NY), which is one of eight Avon Breast Care and Research Centers of Excellence across the country, will receive $1,350,000 to support research and clinical trials, as well as care for thousands of medically underserved women facing breast cancer.

Harold Freeman Patient Navigation Institute (New York, NY) will receive $80,000 to provide specialized training to Avon Foundation-funded patient navigators.

Four grants were awarded to strengthen the Avon Safety Net Hospital program to that ensures all women have access to quality breast cancer care regardless of insurance status or ability to pay. These include:

New York City Health and Hospital Corporation Foundation (New York, NY) will receive $650,000 to fund programs at both Jacobi Medical Center and the Harlem Hospital.

Metropolitan Hospital (New York, NY) will receive $400,000.

Kings County Hospital (New York, NY) will receive $350,000.

Northern Westchester Hospital (Westchester, NY) will receive $215,000.

During the Opening Ceremony Saturday morning, renowned breast cancer expert Dr. Susan Love announced the new Love/Avon Army of Woman, a partnership between the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation and the Avon Foundation to create a registry of one million women to take part in research studies, with the goal of preventing breast cancer. During the evening at the Avon Walk Wellness Village, thousands of walkers signed up at www.avonwalk.org.

At today's Closing Ceremony, walker and breast cancer survivor Annette Rodriguez of the Lower East Side was one of the speakers who provided an immediate reminder of the impact of breast cancer as she shared her inspiration for walking.

"We are from different worlds in our everyday lives, but we walk, camp, and motivate each other all year round in order to spend this one weekend together. The outpouring of love and support from every corner of my world was astounding. Standing here and seeing that sea of pink, and all of those beautiful survivors, I know that I made it another year. I'm here. I'm ready. And I'll keep walking for my daughters, for your daughters, and for our grandchildren."

About the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer

The Avon Walk New York is a noncompetitive event in which women and men had a choice of walking a marathon (26.2 miles) or a marathon and a half (39.3 miles) over the weekend. The event kicked off Saturday, October 4, with an inspirational early morning Opening Ceremony at Pier 84. Following the Ceremony, walkers began their journey, traveling through the New York area and concluding at the Avon Walk "Wellness Village" at Randall's Island, a "tent city" complete with two-person tents, hot showers, prepared meals, entertainment, and recreational activities such as the Reebok sneaker personalization station and the Fiji water pink carpet photo program. Walkers arriving to New York Walk Wellness Village were welcomed by Avon Foundation representatives planting pink tulip bulbs in the shape of a giant pink ribbon, as part of the as the Avon Foundation Plant-A-Pink Tulip program. On Sunday, October 5, walkers completed another 13.1 miles together, ending back at Pier 84 where they were greeted by thousands of family and friends who shared in a celebratory and moving Closing Ceremony, which included the awarding of initial new grants.

To participate in the Avon Walk New York, each walker raised a minimum of $1,800 in donations. Funds raised are managed and disbursed by the Avon Foundation [a 501(c)(3) public charity] and awarded to local, regional and national breast cancer organizations to support five areas of the breast cancer cause, including awareness and education, screening and diagnosis, access to treatment, support services, and scientific research, all with a focus on the medically underserved. Donations are still being accepted for the Avon Walk New York, and registration is still open for the remaining 2008 Avon Walk in Charlotte, NC (October 25-26). Already concluded are the Avon Walks for Breast Cancer Houston, Washington, DC, Boston, Chicago, Rocky Mountains, CO, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

To register, donate or for additional information, please visit www.avonwalk.org or call 800-541-WALK.

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The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer thanks National Sponsor: Reebok; Official Sponsors: Genentech BioOncology, Novartis Oncology and Prevention Magazine; and Official Water: FIJI; and Official Cereal, Post Selects.

Remember: early detection can help save lives. Schedule your mammogram or clinical breast exam today. For more breast cancer information and resources, visit www.cancer.org (keyword breast cancer) or www.avonfoundation.org, where you can access free printable breast cancer informational literature.