You may have heard the news that both of the local Boards of Directors for Virginia’s two Susan G. Komen affiliates – Central & Eastern Virginia, based in Richmond, and Blue Ridge, based in Roanoke, have decided to close their doors rather than participate in Komen’s national reorganization to centralize operations from its national office in Texas and unify mission programs. The Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation (VBCF) has appreciated partnering with Virginia’s Komen affiliates in community-focused efforts over the years. We remain committed to serving Virginians as the only statewide, state-based breast cancer organization in the Commonwealth.
While VBCF and Komen had different programmatic missions, ours remains focused on hosting education and advocacy programs to all Virginians affected by breast cancer. Our organization is grassroots. 2021 marks our 30th year of supporting Virginians, and even in the midst of economic uncertainty, we will continue our efforts. The funds we raise stay in Virginia to serve Virginians.
Our local network of volunteers across Virginia help us distribute our free educational materials to Virginians. Our Newly Diagnosed packets help connect Virginians with the local, state, and national resources that can help them. We offer accurate, up-to-date information on breast cancer early detection, diagnosis, treatment, research, legislation, survivorship, caregiving, and end-of-life care. And our advocacy efforts help to improve legislative policies for breast cancer patients and survivors and to fund Virginia’s breast cancer researchers. And during the pandemic, VBCF has found new ways to offer important breast cancer education opportunities through our free webinar series.
We encourage you to check out VBCF.org to find out more about our programs and get involved with our work. We are hopeful breast cancer will be eradicated. But until Virginians don’t need us, VBCF is here to help.
Sincerely,
