|
Komen Lowcountry Attends Advocacy Alliance Lobby Day in Washington, DC
Lowcountry Komen advocates Lucy Spears, Gene Glave, and Almeda Kelley attended Komen for the Cure’s Advocacy Alliance Lobby Day on April 30, 2009, in Washington, DC. Over 300 Komen advocates from around the country met with their legislators to discuss several important issues relating not just to breast cancer, but to all cancers. The Lowcountry advocates met with Rep. Henry Brown and Rep. Joe Wilson, as well as Rep. James Clyburn’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Barvetta Singletary, to discuss the state of breast cancer in South Carolina and a new piece of legislation-- the Breast Cancer EARLY Act. We are pleased to report that Rep. James Clyburn is a co-sponsor of the bill, and we hope to see both Rep. Wilson and Rep. Brown join him as co-sponsors.
In addition to pushing for a greater investment in cancer research, the Lowcountry delegation highlighted two recently introduced bills – the 21st Century Cancer ALERT ACT and the Breast Cancer EARLY Act – that tackle the cancer crisis in several important ways, which together will help save lives and get us closer to discovering and delivering the cures to cancer.
While in Washington, DC, the Lowcountry Affiliate was awarded, along with the Upstate Affiliate, the State Policy Collaborative of the Year. Hala Modelmog, CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, presented the award to Mary Lynn Donovan (Upstate) and Lucy Spears (Lowcountry) for exemplary work in Public Policy. Through the collaborative efforts of these two affiliates and that of the South Carolina Cancer Alliance, the state approved it’s first ever appropriation of $2 million to the Best Chance Network, a program for free breast and cervical cancer screenings for uninsured women between the ages of 40-64. When the funding was withdrawn due to budget cuts, the collaborative fought hard to have it restored. It is currently included in the state’s new budget, which will be voted on very soon.
 
 
We ask you to join us in advocating for the women and their families of South Carolina. Register online at www.komenadvocacy.org or call Lucy Spears at (843) 266-2699.
For more information on the EARLY Act, go to: wassermanschultz.house.gov/earlyact.
For more information on the 21st Century Cancer ALERT Act, go to: www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-717.
To contact your legislators, go to: www.senate.gov, www.house.gov and www.scstatehouse.gov.
And for more information about the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Advocacy Alliance, go to: www.komenadvocacy.org
|
|
