Georgetown Lombardi Fields Top Fundraising Team at Avon Walk in Washington
Posted in News Release
WASHINGTON — Dozens of volunteers and patients representing Capital Breast Care Center (new window) (CBCC), part of Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center (new window), took to the streets of Washington this weekend for the two-day, 39.3-mile Avon Walk for Breast Cancer (new window). The Georgetown Lombardi/Capital Breast Care Center team is the top fund raising team this year, bringing in more than $194,500.
At the closing ceremony Sunday at the grounds of the Washington Monument, the Avon Foundation presented a $200,000 check to support CBCC – one of several grants Avon awarded to local organizations to help support their breast cancer research, screening and education efforts.
“Avon’s support makes a difference to CBCC’s patients and staff,” says Wanda Lucas, MBA, CBCC’s executive director. “Funding helps us reach women in the community where they reside, educating them on the importance of breast cancer screening.”
Jeanne Mandelblatt, MD, MPH (new window), associate director for population sciences at Georgetown Lombardi and founding director of CBCC, completed her 14th Avon walk this weekend—once again serving as captain of the 57-member team.
“My reasons for walking haven’t wavered over the years,” says Mandelblatt. “I walk every year to let Avon know how much their support means to us. I walk so that our patients know that they are not alone. We are walking with them every step of the way and I will keep walking until we have cured breast cancer.”
This year’s team trained together regularly for months leading up to the Avon Walk. Their walks have taken them all over the District, Maryland and Virginia, carrying their team flag designed by team member Larry Tyson proclaiming “One Team, One Fight.”
The Avon Foundation has been one of CBCC’s main supporters since it provided an initial grant of $1 million to establish the center in 2004, and has since supported CBCC with more than $8 million in funding.
The team also received a generous donation from MedStar Health of $10,000. MedStar Health is Georgetown Lombardi’s clinical partner that provides clinical services to CBCC’s patients.
CBCC, a program of Georgetown Lombardi’s Office for Minority Health and Health Disparities Research, was founded in 2004. It is a community-based breast cancer screening clinic in the DC-metro area that provides screening and navigation services to women, regardless of their ability to pay.
About Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center
Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of Georgetown University Medical Center and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, seeks to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer through innovative basic and clinical research, patient care, community education and outreach, and the training of cancer specialists of the future. Georgetown Lombardi is one of only 41 comprehensive cancer centers in the nation, as designated by the National Cancer Institute (grant #P30 CA051008), and the only one in the Washington, DC area. For more information, go to http://lombardi.georgetown.edu.
About Georgetown University Medical Center
Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) is an internationally recognized academic medical center with a three-part mission of research, teaching and patient care (through MedStar Health). GUMC’s mission is carried out with a strong emphasis on public service and a dedication to the Catholic, Jesuit principle of cura personalis — or “care of the whole person.” The Medical Center includes the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing & Health Studies, both nationally ranked; Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute; and the Biomedical Graduate Research Organization, which accounts for the majority of externally funded research at GUMC including a Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Institutes of Health.
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