ABCG: What is Avon’s role in the Breast Cancer Crusade?

Sterling: The Avon Breast Cancer Crusade is a national initiative of Avon Products, Inc., and I would say that it demonstrates Avon’s leadership in corporate philanthropy and also our corporate identity: Avon is the company for women. The Avon Breast Cancer Crusade raises money in two ways. First, our independent sales representatives sell special pink ribbon products without earning any commission on them. Obviously they earn commission on everything else, but on the pink ribbon product, they forfeit their commission earnings so that the proceeds can be awarded as grants to breast cancer organizations.

The other way we raise money is through the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day fundraising walks. Every walker who participates has to raise a minimum of $1,800 and again, all of the net proceeds from the walk go to support breast cancer organizations nationwide.

In addition, Avon dedicates a tremendous amount of human and financial resources to the breast cancer crusade. And corporately, we are developing, manufacturing and promoting those pink ribbon products. They appear in our Avon brochures along with all our other merchandise. There are numerous full time employees of Avon Products, Inc. who work on the breast cancer crusade, including employees whose roles include finance, tax, legal, marketing promotion, and auditing. Avon’s support for the breast cancer cause is really much more than a check writing philanthropy. Donating money to organizations is fine, but it doesn’t do much to raise public awareness about an issue. Through the sale of our pink ribbon products, which are promoted in the brochures and are distributed by our Avon representatives, as well as our fundraising walks—which, by the way, generate extensive media coverage—Avon is able to reach millions of people with important messages about breast cancer. That’s how we raise the money and public awareness about breast cancer.

ABCG: How did Avon get involved in this particular women’s cause and why?

Sterling: That’s an easy answer. Breast cancer is one of the pre-eminent health concerns of women in the United States. Avon did a survey back in ‘93 and asked women to comment on not just health issues, but social issues, economic issues and so forth. The absolute number one issue of leading concern of the respondents was breast cancer. In addition, Avon is a women’s company. The majority of our employees, our independent sales representatives and our customers are women, and we know that many of them have been affected by breast cancer, either directly or indirectly. It was a logical choice for us.

ABCG: What are the major goals of the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade? How are these goals accomplished?

Sterling: We were founded in 1993, and we had an exclusive mission to promote awareness of the need for early detection. We know that many, many women were not going in for mammograms and clinical breast exams. We also knew that early detection was a particularly under-supported area of breast cancer, so when we started, that was the sole focus.

But we’re expanding now. The major goal since the Crusade started in 1993 has been and will continue to be access to quality breast cancer care for all women. Emphasis on the “all,” and by that I mean women who are what we call medically underserved—women with no health insurance or very little health insurance. Access to care in this country is very difficult for many populations of women, and lack of insurance is a major barrier. Really, I think the fundamental goal of the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade has been, and will continue to be, access to quality breast cancer care for all women.

ABCG: How many Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day fundraising walks do you host each year?

Sterling: We have held five since we launched the program in 1998, and we will have seven in 2000.

ABCG: How can women and men become involved in the walk?

Sterling: The national toll free number that folks can call to find out how they can become involved with our fundraising walk is 888-3-DAY-AVON or (888) 332-9286. If a person wants to participate as a walker, a crew member or a volunteer, they can call that number, tell them where they live, and be connected to the local office. The first event is May 5-7 and is in Washington, DC. The second walk is June 2-4 in Boston. Then we’re going to Chicago June 16-18. We’ll then be in San Francisco from July 28-30; Atlanta from September 22-24; New York from October 13-15; and Los Angeles from October 27-29.

ABCG: You have raised over $55 million since 1993, and you have funded over 500 breast health programs. Are there specific grants that are memorable to you?

Sterling: There are many. But one of the most exceptional programs that Avon has funded since 1994 is one called the ENCOREplus Program, which is located at approximately 78 YWCA associations across the country. These are special programs that educate women about the importance of getting regular screenings and help eliminate barriers that keep women from going for a mammogram and clinical breast exam, barriers such as transportation, child care and fear. The program is extremely high quality, and as a matter of fact, it was written up last April in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, which is quite an honor for a grassroots, community-based program that’s serving women who are poor and disenfranchised. There are other programs that are exceptional, but ENCOREplus is a particular success, I would say.

ABCG: How does Avon choose the programs to donate to?

Sterling: Through 1999, all of the money that we’ve raised, between the sale of pink ribbon products and the fundraising walks, is over $55 million. Of that $55 million, approximately $35 million of it has already been awarded as grants to breast health programs. They have all had essentially the same mission, which is to go out into the communities and inform women about the importance of early detection and to then refer those women to either low cost or free early detection screening services. And by that I mean mammograms and clinical breast examinations.

The over 500 breast health programs that we have funded have all targeted medically underserved women. So we’ve been reaching Latina women, African-American women, ex-tremely poor women in Appa-lachia, and Asian-American women. We’ve reached all of the populations that fall through the cracks of the health care system, not just because they lack health insurance, but because English may not be their primary language. Women tend to put their families before themselves, so if the kids need a new pair of shoes and the mother needs a mammogram, guess which will probably happen first. The programs Avon supports talk to women about the importance of getting a mammogram and a clinical breast exam, and they make it as easy as possible for women to follow through.

If you’re interested in how we choose programs, what we do is send out an RFA, which stands for Request For Applications. RFA’s go to organizations all across the country, and then Avon and its non-profit partners review them, distill them to a list of fifty or sixty finalists, and then hold a review process. We convene a group of experts, which includes oncologists, radiologists, breast cancer survivors, and people who work in public health. Those experts review the application and score it on the basis of past success and the ability of the program to serve the largest number of women in that community.

ABCG: How can a program submit a request for consideration?

Sterling: Organizations can call the Avon Breast Care Fund at , or visit www.avonbreastcare.org.

ABCG: What other programs is Avon working on to facilitate breast cancer research?

Sterling: Here’s the great news: In ‘99 alone, pink ribbon products and the 3-Day fundraising walks brought in over $20 million, so this has put Avon in the enviable position of being able to expand our philanthropy to address even more than early detection. We’re going to be able to fund the complete continuum of womens’ needs in connection with breast cancer, and by that I mean we’re going to do three things. We’re going to increase our support for the community based early detection programs; we will establish a new program that will provide financial assistance for women who need biopsies, other diagnostic care and also support services for women who are undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Lastly, we are going to fund research that will focus on breast cancer and will hopefully lead to better and more customized treatment for women. This is big! We’re really branching out, and it’s going to allow us to support the complete range of breast cancer services. We originally were doing just early detection; now we’re doing support services and research that we all hope and pray will one day find a cure for breast cancer.

ABCG: Are you pleased with the progress researchers have made in the field of breast cancer?

Sterling: Absolutely. Huge progress is being made to unravel the complicated biological mechanisms that cause breast cancer and, as a matter of fact, new methods of early detection and treatment have reduced the mortality rate from breast cancer by seven percent since 1992. I truly believe that Avon has made a substantial contribution to that, particularly the early detection piece. Since 1993, we have referred tens of thousands of women in this country to mammograms and clinical breast exams and reached hundreds of thousands of women with the message about the need for early detection. Avon is thrilled to now be able to do even more, including support for research.