Young Survival Coalition Establishes Atlanta Affiliate

May 04, 2001

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Young Survival Coalition Establishes Atlanta Affiliate

New York, NY - (May 4, 2001)

Grant From the Greater Atlanta Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Helps Non-Profit Organization Grow The Young Survival Coalition (YSC), the only non-profit organization specifically focused on the needs and issues of women 40 and under who are living with breast cancer, recently received a $45,000 grant from the Greater Atlanta Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The grant will be used to establish a YSC affiliate in the Greater Atlanta area. The Atlanta chapter is the YSC's first outside of its New York City base. It will seek to reach over 400,000 young women under the age of 40 in the Atlanta area, by providing outreach, support, and advocacy services with the help of, and on behalf of, the roughly 1,500 young breast cancer survivors in the area. "There is a definite need in Atlanta for the services that the YSC provides, and we are eager to begin working to meet those needs," said Susan Kolevsohn, Project Manager for the Grant and Co-President of YSC's Atlanta affiliate. "Not only will we be available to those young women who are currently living with breast cancer, but we will educate all young women about the disease and how to be their own advocate when it comes to their health. We are thrilled to have been given this opportunity and thank the Greater Atlanta Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation for providing us with the support and funding needed to serve the women of Georgia." The goals of the Atlanta affiliate include:

• Developing a large network of survivors in the greater Atlanta Metropolitan area to focus local and national attention to the issues of breast cancer in younger women.
• Form strategic alliances through education and joint programming with the breast-health community in the Atlanta area.
• Raise awareness about young women and breast cancer among the medical community.
• Conduct educational and outreach programs at local colleges, high schools, hospitals and breast health centers.
• Encourage local and national involvement in education and advocacy initiatives to increase the number of breast cancer research dollars and allot a proportional amount of those dollars to issues surrounding young women and breast cancer.

For additional information on the Young Survival Coalition or to speak with Susan Kolevsohn, please contact Tracy Pleva Hill at (201) 666-0062 or Jolene Hopper at (404) 843-5841.

Through action, advocacy and awareness, the YSC seeks to educate and influence the medical, research, breast cancer and legislative communities to address breast cancer in women 40 and under, and to serve as a point of contact for young women living with breast cancer. For more information about the Young Survival Coalition, visit www.youngsurvival.org.