OZARK AFFILIATE RELEASES EMERGENCY FUNDS FOR 3 ORGANIZATIONS TO ASSIST WITH BREAST HEALTH SERVICES

OZARK AFFILIATE RELEASES EMERGENCY FUNDS FOR 3 ORGANIZATIONS TO ASSIST WITH BREAST HEALTH SERVICES

Breast Cancer Organization Funds Unmet Breast Cancer Needs Throughout Northwest Arkansas And The River Valley

Determined to save lives and end breast cancer forever, the Ozark Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure ® has awarded 3 emergency grant funds totaling $50,000 to programs providing breast cancer services to Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley.

The previously granted funds and BreastCare funds were not enough to cover all women in need; therefore, the Ozark Affiliate released emergency grant funds that will serve as a safety net for women in Benton, Boone, Crawford, Newton, Sebastian and Washington counties.  The Ozark Affiliate has been working closely with current grantees on different ways to provide services and help to women.  The Emergency Grant Funds cycle will be from January 1, 2012-March 31, 2012.  The grant slate for the emergency funds includes; Women’s Center of Sparks-Fort Smith, Arkansas; Community Clinic-Rogers and Springdale, Arkansas; and North Arkansas Partnership for Health Education (NAPHE), Harrison, Arkansas.

As a grant recipient, each program will be supported by funds from Komen Ozark to provide screening, diagnostic and treatment.  These funds will be concentrated on women under the age of 40 who do not qualify for BreastCare.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest breast cancer organization, and the Ozark Affiliate is one of 125 affiliates on the front lines dedicated to ending breast cancer in their communities.  Through local events and activities, the Komen Ozark Affiliate mobilizes and educates thousands of community members while raising funds to support community-based breast cancer programs.  Komen Affiliates fund innovative programs that help women and men overcome the cultural, social, educational and financial barriers to breast cancer screening and treatment.

“We are very pleased to be able to provide this emergency funding to these three agencies.  The need this year has been even greater than anticipated and we are hoping that these funds will assist those that otherwise would not have access to care.  Our signature fundraiser the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure provides us the platform to fund these programs and I hope the community will support our event on April 28, 2012,” Alison Levin, Executive Director of the Ozark Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

About Susan G. Komen for the Cure® and the Ozark Affiliate
Nancy Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever, and in 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure.  The Ozark Affiliate is part of the world’s largest and most progressive grassroots network fighting breast cancer.  Through events like the Komen Ozark Race for the Cure, the Ozark Affiliate has invested over $7 million in community breast cancer programs in Benton, Boone, Carroll, Crawford, Madison, Newton, Sebastian and Washington counties.  Recently, the Ozark Affiliate annexed two counties, Stone and Taney, in Missouri.  Up to 75 percent of net proceeds generated by the affiliate say in the Ozark Affiliate service area.  The remaining 25 percent funds national breast cancer research.  For more information, call (479) 750-7465 or visit www.komenozark.org.