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Posts tagged as “American Cancer Society”

Oregon Komen Foundation Launches Initiative to Reduce Breast Cancer Deaths Among Black Women

By goodblacknews on July 21, 2018
The team collecting data to inform a multi-year project, spearheaded by Susan G. Komen Oregon & SW Washington, to address breast cancer disparities in Portland’s African American community includes (from left): Cindy Fletcher, Komen’s director of programs; Dr. Angela Owusu-Ansah, professor of doctoral studies at Concordia University; Bridget Jamieson, Komen’s community programs manager; D. Bora Harris, diversity consultant; and Kelvin Hall, a doctoral candidate and community advocate. (Photo via thelundreport.org)

by Molly Harbarger via The Oregonian/OregonLive

Cancer has long been a leading killer in the black community. One in nine African-American women in the United States will develop breast cancer during their lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society. Of those, 42 percent more are likely to die of the disease than white women.

“The disparities are shocking,” said Andrew Asato, CEO the local Komen organization.

But there’s little comparable at the a local level, something the Oregon and Southwest Washington chapter of the Susan G. Komen Foundation hopes to change. The group launched an initiative this week to collect data about health disparities in the black community to learn how health care providers can reduce barriers for black women to access support.

They received a grant from the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute Community Partnership Program to survey the region’s demographics, breast cancer screening habits and barriers to screening and treatment.

The team will be led by Angela Owusu-Ansah, Ph.D, a professor at Concordia University in Portland. It also includes Kelvin Hall, an adjunct professor and doctoral candidate at Concordia, and D. Bora Harris, a diversity consultant.

“As an African-American person, I realize the load on people impacted by cancer,” said Hall, who has had several family members die of the disease. “There needs to be support pieces out there, because it falls on the shoulders of just a few family members.”

The team also will look at the social as well as institutional obstacles African-American women face to health care.

“In addition to health disparities within our underserved and underrepresented communities, as African American women, we have historically been taught to ‘hush’ concerning many things,” Harris said. “This tradition of silence may have negatively impacted several phases of our quality of life in respect to our health.”

Once that data is collected, the nonprofit advocacy group plans to bring a set of recommendations to public and private health care providers, hospitals and community groups to help reduce the rate at which black Portlanders die from breast cancer.

“It is time to move beyond education and do what we can to encourage action,” said Asato.

Source: https://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2018/07/oregon_komen_foundation_launch.html

Chance The Rapper Partners with Lyft to Raise Funds to Support Chicago Public Schools

By goodblacknews on October 10, 2017

Chance the Rapper (photo via chicagotribune.com)

by Tracy Swartz via chicagotribune.com
The ride-share service Lyft announced Tuesday that passengers can now round up their fare to the next dollar and donate the difference to Chance the Rapper’s fund to support Chicago Public Schools. The New Chance Arts and Literature Fund, devoted to creating and expanding Chicago arts education programs, is the first local organization Lyft is supporting through the “round up and donate” feature.
Lyft will automatically round up each fare for passengers who opt in via the “settings” tab on the Lyft app and choose their charity. The American Cancer Society, the American Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity are among the national organizations that have similar partnerships with Lyft, which is headquartered in San Francisco.
Chance the Rapper, born Chancelor Bennett and raised on the South Side of Chicago, announced the creation of the arts and literature fund in March. He said last month that his organization SocialWorks raised $2.2 million to help 20 Chicago public schools. And though his partnership with Lyft is new, the Grammy winner raps about ride-sharing in his song “All Night,” off last year’s “Coloring Book” project: “You should use your phone, call a Uber/ You a goofy if you think I don’t know you need a Lyft.”
To donate directly to the New Chance Arts and Literature Fund, click here.
Source: Lyft announces partnership with Chance the Rapper to support CPS – Chicago Tribune

In Wake of #Charlottesville, Several National Charities Cancel Fundraisers at Trump's Mar-a-Lago

By goodblacknews on August 18, 2017

by Jackie Wattles, Ahiza Garcia and Jill Disis via money.cnn.com
The American Red Cross, The Salvation Army and Susan G. Komen Foundation all said Friday they’re canceling events at Trump’s Palm Beach property Mar-a-Lago. That comes after three organizations made similar announcements on Thursday.
The cancellations follow the spectacular implosion of Trump’s business councils this week over the president’s insistence that counter-protesters shared the blame for violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The collapse of the councils was an extraordinary rebuke to a president who prides himself on being business-friendly. High-profile CEOs like JPMorgan Chase‘s Jamie Dimon have publicly slammed Trump’s reaction to Charlottesville. Now, Trump’s words appear to be hurting his own business. “The American Red Cross has decided we cannot host our annual fundraising event at Mar-a-Lago, as it has increasingly become a source of controversy and pain for many of our volunteers, employees and supporters,” the organization said in a statement.
The Red Cross said it “provides assistance without discrimination to all people in need, regardless of nationality, race, religious beliefs, or political opinions, and we must be clear and unequivocal in our defense of that principle.” According to the Palm Beach Daily News social events calendar, The Red Cross was slated to host its International Red Cross Ball at the resort on Feb. 3, 2018 .The Salvation Army also pulled its Holiday Snow Ball off the venue’s events list.
“Because the conversation has shifted away from the purpose of this event, we will not host it at Mar-a-Lago,” spokesperson Kurt Watkins said. On Thursday, the Cleveland Clinic, the American Cancer Society and an organization that supports disaster relief said they were abandoning plans for fundraisers at the private club.
To read full article, go to: Now charities are dumping Trump, too – Aug. 18, 2017