Komen Comes Through

Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s Austin Affiliate announced last week that it would award more than $1.4 million in grants this year to local organizations, including Planned Parenthood.

That local announcement comes just a little more than three months after news hit that Komen's national office had come up with a new policy that would prevent Planned Parenthood from receiving any grant funds – a policy it later reversed.

The first round of grantees announced last week include the Alliance for African American Health in Central Texas, which received nearly $49,000; the University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing Family Wellness Center’s Women’s Wellness Program, which received more than $108,000; and Planned Parenthood of the Texas Capital Region, which received nearly $45,000. Each of the grantees, 10 in total, will use the money to implement breast cancer prevention, treatment, and education programs for uninsured and underinsured men and women in Central Texas. “We must continue to do everything in our power to make sure our community has access to care and resources related to breast health and breast cancer, especially those that live in the margins with limited means,” Komen Austin Affiliate Executive Director Christy Casey-Moore said in a press release.

A second round of grants will be awarded in June.