Charity Profile
Susan G. Komen Austin is strengthening the fight against breast cancer
Editor's note: CultureMap is committed to shining a light on Austin-area nonprofits and their impact on our community. So, we're launching the first-ever CultureMap Austin Charity Challenge, highlighting deserving local organizations — one of which will become our charity partner for 2016 based on readers' votes. Get to know one of our eight finalists, Susan G. Komen Austin.
It started as a promise from one sister to another. As her sister Susan G. Komen succumbed to breast cancer, Nancy G. Brinker promised to do everything in her power to fight the disease. Thirty-three years later, the struggle is not over but it has changed, with more resources than ever available to those affected by breast cancer. Since its inception in 1999, Susan G. Komen's Austin affiliate, Komen Austin, has invested over $11 million into the local community to strengthen the cause.
Komen Austin, which serves Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Williamson, and Travis counties, uses 75 percent of money raised to help patients and families in the area through health grants and educational initiatives. Additional funds go toward global research studies as they work to find a cure. The research has helped to reduce breast cancer deaths by 34 percent since 1990 and will continue until the cure is found.
Komen Austin raises awareness and funds with year-round events benefiting the organization. The popular Race for the Cure, which took place November 15, is accepting donations until December 31. Pink! (An Evening Benefiting Komen Austin) will paint the town — you guessed it — pink on April 16, 2016. Much of the proceeds from these events stay local, helping Austin-area women and men facing breast cancer.
Vote now for Susan G. Komen Austin — or any of the other worthy local nonprofits — in the CultureMap Charity Challenge running through December 30. A winner will be announced January 5, 2016, and will receive a CultureMap advertising package worth $10,000.