FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 21, 2020
CT Breast Health Initiative to Award $80,000 in Grants to Support Research and Breast Cancer Survivors in Connecticut
The Connecticut Breast Health Initiative (CT BHI) has announced that it will be awarding 2020 grants totaling $80,000 to three Connecticut organizations to further their efforts in breast cancer research, education and support. The awards come during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and despite the fact that CT BHI’s major annual fundraiser – the Mother’s Day weekend RACE IN THE PARK – was cancelled this year due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Receiving the grants will be:
Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center – awarded $5,000
The Hospital of Central Connecticut – awarded $25,000
University of Connecticut Health Center – awarded $50,000
During the past 16 years, CT BHI has awarded just over $4 million in grants to Connecticut researchers and educators.
“What’s raised in Connecticut, stays in Connecticut,” explains Joyce Bray, president of the CT BHI Board of Directors. “We are very proud of the support we continue to receive from sponsors, donors, volunteers, and participants. Those efforts translate into tangible support for cutting-edge research and programmatic initiatives, right here in Connecticut.” Noting that grant making was reduced this year due to COVID-19, Bray requested donations to CT BHI because “we honestly do not want to halt our researchers’ important work.”
Saint Francis Hospital
The grant awarded to Saint Francis Hospital, a member of Trinity Health Of New England, responds to an application by the Hoffman Breast Health Center Community Outreach/Education Program. The funding will be applied towards patients’ transportation costs to the Karl J. Krapek, Sr. Comprehensive Women’s Health Center at Saint Francis, where the Hoffman Breast Health Center is housed, for mammography and follow-up appointments. The Hoffman Breast Health Center Community Outreach Program aims to reduce late-stage breast cancer diagnoses among medically underserved women in the Greater Hartford area.
“The Hoffman Breast Health Center at Saint Francis has long been committed to providing the most comprehensive and technologically advanced services to women, whether they need a breast health screening or they have received a problem diagnosis,” stated Lynn B. Rossini, regional vice president of philanthropy and chief development officer, Saint Francis Foundation. “This grant will support us as we continue in our efforts to educate the most vulnerable in our communities about breast cancer and the importance of an early diagnosis through screening services. We are grateful to the Connecticut Breast Health Initiative for their tireless efforts to improve the well-being of every woman in our community, even throughout the challenges of the global pandemic.”
The Connecticut Breast Health Initiative, Inc. (CT BHI), a statewide nonprofit, makes a significant impact in the quest to find a cure for breast cancer by providing grants to support education and research in Connecticut. CT BHI is a volunteer based organization, and all money raised stays in Connecticut.
“This has been a very challenging year for health care professionals and for people in every walk of life,” said Bray. “The heartache and tragedy we have witnessed throughout our communities underscores the importance of our efforts to do all we can to advance research and education to sustain the health of people we love and care about. Together, we will impact thousands of lives in Connecticut and continue to close in on a cure.”
One in eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. Over 211,000 new breast cancer cases are diagnosed annually in the U.S., including 16,000 men. About 40,000 women die of breast cancer annually; about 85 percent of the women diagnosed have no family history of breast cancer.
