On August 1, we made history in California. One day, 5 events, and over 500 women (and a few good men) came together to celebrate the Inaugural Circle of Promise Day. More important, women across the state came together to become part of a movement – the Susan G. Komen® Circle of Promise California Initiative – to rewrite the story of African American women and breast cancer, and to make the promise to be proactive about their breast health and engage 10 women in their “circle” that they love, honor and care about to do the same.
Circle of Promise Day commemorates the birthday of Henrietta Lacks and celebrates the magnitude of the contributions from one single African-American woman to the field of medical science and how her HeLa cells have led to improvements in health care and treatments for millions of people around the world. The Circle of Promise Day Resolution was passed for the State of California on June 24th through collaboration with the California Legislative Black Caucus.
Following the Breast Cancer Health Disparities Roundtable, Komen Sacramento, Komen San Francisco Bay Area, and the National team hosted a Northern California COP Day in Oakland. Susan G. Komen President and CEO Dr. Judith Salerno was also present to speak about the importance of reducing the health disparity of breast cancer in African American women. This day not only commemorated Henrietta Lacks’ contribution to science but also aided in empowering women to become active about their breast health, as well as encouraging ten additional women in their circle to do the same.
Komen Sacramento is proud to announce Kaiser Permanente as a new sponsor of the Susan G. Komen Circle of Promise California Initiative, in the form of a $20,000 grant. A big thank you to Kaiser for supporting our initiative and this vital outreach to the African American Community!
This project is supported in part by Kaiser Permanente Northern California Community Benefits Program
