On August 17, 2023, the University of New Mexico (UNM) announced that the Prevent Cancer Foundation has selected the Comadre a Comadre organization to receive a $25,000 grant for the upcoming year, according to a press release. The organization was one of only 12 recipients chosen to receive grant funding.
‘We are both honored and ecstatic that we were awarded this national grant. We are eager to begin implementing the objectives of this project in collaboration with our peer educators and community partners,” Comadre a Comadre Director Elba L. Saavedra Ferrer said, according to the press release.
Per the press release, recipients were chosen by the Foundation with an emphasis on community engagement, awareness, education, and effective treatment solutions. The Foundation's mission is to reduce cancer deaths by 40% by 2035.
Comadre a Comadre was for grant funding selected based its potential to educate, expand, and adapt its efforts to address disparities in communities within and beyond New Mexico, according to the press release. The organization provides targeted assistance to Hispanic and Latinx women that need mammogram, pap test, or HPV test screenings.
Funding will be used to drive the organization's Platicas project which seeks to provide education and information to raise awareness for the early detection of breast and cervical cancer for New Mexico women. The grant will be used to fund hiring a project coordinator, navigators, and providing gift cards to volunteers conducting the classes. Saavedra Ferrer projects that the project will enroll approximately 300 New Mexicans and guide them towards cancer screening appointments and hopes that numbers could rise to 850 based on the organization's other efforts.
Established in 1985, the Prevent Cancer Foundation stands as the sole U.S.-centered nonprofit committed exclusively to cancer prevention and the early detection of the disease. The Foundation operates across four key domains: Research, which entails providing funding for significant research grants and fellowships; Education, Outreach, and Advocacy according to the Prevent Cancer Foundation.