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History
The history of the Komen Houston Affiliate is rich with many dedicated and passionate breast cancer survivors, volunteers and advocates who donate their time, energy and knowledge to the mission of eradicating breast cancer as a life-threatening disease.
The Affiliate has grown tremendously since its beginning. To date the Affiliate has awarded more than $22 million in grants for breast cancer education, screening and treatment in our seven county service area. In addition, the Affiliate has donated more than $7 million for breast cancer research to help find a cure for this disease.
The Beginning
In 1990, Gayle McMorrow made the initial phone call to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in Dallas to inquire about bringing a Race for the Cure® to Houston. The Komen Foundation referred her to Victor Vogel M.D., a doctor at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, who also was interested in starting a Race for the Cure® in Houston.
Gayle recruited other members of the community, including the first Race co-chairs, Julie Thurber and Anna Thomsen. This small but committed group of volunteers successfully organized the first Komen Houston Race for the Cure® which was held in the Galleria area on October 5, 1991. The first Komen Houston Race had 1,800 registrants and raised $31,400 in net revenue.
The establishment of a Komen Chapter in Houston began at the same time as individuals were working on the first Race. Marsha Eckermann was asked by the National Headquarters to form the first Komen Houston Board of Directors and serve as the first President. She agreed and worked toward that goal. The first Board meeting was held in August of 1991.
In the early days, the volunteers worked out of their homes with no paid staff. They laughed that files were kept in garages and cars, and that they wrote letters on typewriters and did business while preparing dinner! It was truly a grassroots effort with a small core of committed women.
The mission of the Komen Houston Affiliate was met with great approval from the medical community and quickly spread to the greater Houston community.
The Komen Houston Affiliate continues to strive to achieve the mission of saving lives and ending breast cancer forever by empowering people, ensuring quality care for all and energizing science to find the cures.
Click here to see the Affiliate Timeline.
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