Local funds fuel Lowcountry fight against breast cancer

The Lowcountry Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure distributed $674,739 to numerous organizations throughout the Lowcountry in 2009. The grant funds were provided largely from community donations to the 2008 Komen Race for the Cure. Several other fundraising events such as Rally for the Cure, held at various locations throughout the Lowcountry, also provided monies to Komen’s grant fund. The large grant recipients, considered awards of $5,000 or more, were presented their checks in April.

Komen Lowcountry Affiliate annually accepts applications for breast health and/or breast cancer education, outreach, treatment support, or screening projects. Applicants focus on services not otherwise available to the medically underserved populations of Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Georgetown, Hampton, Horry*, Jasper and Orangeburg counties in South Carolina. The remaining balance, not given to large grant recipients, is budgeted for small grants (no more than $5,000) and awarded throughout the year.

*Joined the Komen Lowcountry Affiliate on April 1, 2009

Large grant recipients this year included:

• $70,594 to Volunteers in Medicine, serving Beaufort County

• $74,914 to Hollings Cancer Center, serving Beaufort, Berkeley, Colleton, and Georgetown counties

• $72,695 to Beaufort Jasper Hampton Comprehensive Health, serving Beaufort, Jasper, and Hampton counties

• $42,631 to United Way of BCH, serving Bamberg, Colleton, and Hampton counties

• $45,693 to Regional Medical Center of Orangeburg, serving Orangeburg County

• $58,567 to Allendale County Hospital, serving Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, and Hampton counties

• $75,000 to Charleston Breast Center, serving Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties

• $36,500 to Closing the Gap in Health Care, serving Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties

• $10,000 to The Parents Corner, serving Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties

• $38,346 to Smith Medical Clinic, serving Georgetown County

• $47,976 to South Carolina Cancer Alliance (SCCA), serving Allendale, Bamberg, and Orangeburg counties

• $29,304 to Beaufort Memorial Hospital, serving Beaufort County

• $54,400 to Royal Missionary Baptist Church, serving Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties

• $18,119 to Lowcountry Health Care System Inc., serving Allendale county with satellite services to Blackville, Barnwell, and Orangeburg counties