OpTree

The Avon Foundation has partnered with the U.S. State Department to announce a public-private partnership help combat breast cancer around the world.

The two organizations will join forces to participate at the 2008 Breast Cancer Global Congress held next week in Washington D.C. The event will include participants from over 40 countries around the world who will come together at the Department of the State’s George C. Marshall Center in Washington D.C. Among the participants will be researchers, doctors, public health figures, and survivors of the disease who will discuss progress in research and treatments as well as new preventative measures.

The Avon Foundation was founded in 1955 and has become a leader in the fight against breast cancer. In 1992 the foundation created the Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade, which is dedicated solely to the fight against breast cancer. The foundation raises millions of dollars every year through various events including the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer to support education, screening and research. Since 1992, they have raised almost 600 million dollars and have become the larges single contributor towards the fight against breast cancer.

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Actress Reese Witherspoon announced that she will not only be at the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer on May 3-4th in Washington DC but also be spending time with the Walk participants. Witherspoon will play a special role in the inspirational Closing Ceremony, during which new DC-area grants will be announced, and she will meet with local Avon Foundation-funded breast cancer organizations to learn firsthand the impact of the funds raised..

Witherspoon who is Avon’s Global Ambassador and Honorary Chair of the Avon Foundation has been getting more and more involved with the company and its causes. She recently was a guest speaker at Avon’s Summit for a Better tomorrow and also helped model the new Empowerment Bracelet.

“We are thrilled to have Reese join us for the Avon Walk DC,” said Avon Foundation Executive Director Carol Kurzig. “During the past year, Reese has been a champion for the Avon Foundation’s commitment to women. Now she continues to lend her support to the Avon Foundation and to our Avon Walk participants in DC. We are excited that Reese will meet the women and men who are raising funds, and the researchers and organizations that are using those funds to save lives.”

In commenting on her role, Reese has stated: “I am very excited to be partnering with the Avon Foundation, which is known the world over as a crusader for women’s causes. I am truly impressed by how Avon has been able to affect real change. I feel a great responsibility in my own life to give back to society. As the Honorary Chairman of the Avon Foundation, I am proud to be joining in the great philanthropic work that is already underway.”

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