Project Open Hand is pleased to highlight the Avon Foundation through our Corporate Spotlight.

History of the Avon Foundation
Avon began their commitment to improving the lives of women and their families in 1955.

Their focus on women's issues led them to create the Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade in 1992, and from 1992 through 2006, the Crusade raised and awarded more than $450 million in fifty countries worldwide for education and treatment, screening and diagnosis, access to treatment, support services, and scientific research focused on finding a cure.

The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, a series of two-day fundraising walks in cities around the country, was launched in 2003 by the Avon Foundation. Participants walk for either 26.2 or 39.3 miles over the course of a weekend, after months of training and fundraising.

Avon and Project Open Hand
In 2005, the Avon Foundation made large gifts to Project Open Hand and four of our fellow organizations in the U.S. who also provide nutritional services. Although POH has been serving women living with breast cancer as part of our short-term Homebound Critically Ill (HCI) program since 2000, Avon's generous donation of $100,000 allowed us to expand our scope. We now serve anyone diagnosed with breast cancer throughout the entire course of the disease and its often debilitating treatments. In 2006, the Avon Foundation selected POH as a grant recipient again, doubling its support to $200,000.

The breast cancer meal program has been very successful, with 295 clients currently enrolled. On January 22nd, a pilot program for groceries was launched. For six months, 31 breast cancer clients will pick up groceries, a special selection chosen to meet their health needs and cultural preferences, once a week at the San Francisco Grocery Center. We were excited to begin a grocery program because it is a direct response to client feedback. So far the pilot program has been going very well and we've already learned a lot about our clients' needs.