The Mazzoni Center is being recognized with an award for its commitment to supporting the breast-cancer movement by Susan G. Komen Philadelphia.
Mazzoni will be one of 25 area organizations to receive Komen Philadelphia’s first-ever Women’s Champion award at this year’s Race for the Cure Kick-Off Party Feb. 6 at Vie, 600 N. Broad St.
“I am really proud that Mazzoni will be receiving this award,” said Mazzoni CEO Nurit Shein. “We have a long-standing relationship with Komen, and I think that one of the reasons why we are being honored is our commitment that all women have access to quality and competent health care.”
For Mazzoni, those include lesbian, bisexual and transgender women —who are often underserved by the mainstream health-care system.
“We started off doing some training within local hospitals about trans women coming in for breast exams,” said Shein, “and the relationship grew from there, understanding the needs of all women.”
“We couldn’t do what we do to save lives and lead the fight against breast cancer without these organizations pursuing their own missions with such dedication,” said Komen Philadelphia CEO Elaine Grobman in a statement. “Without each of these 25 Women’s Champion honorees strengthening women in other aspects of individual and communal living, our quest to save lives from breast cancer would be all the more difficult.”
Mazzoni’s efforts to increase breast-cancer awareness and decrease barriers to breast-cancer screening among LGBT people were among its most notable accomplishments, according to Komen.
The organization also highlighted Mazzoni’s special educational program in October hosted by Sisterly L.O.V.E., which aimed to educate transgender women on breast-health awareness and cancer risks.
“Mazzoni still has to do more for women,” Shein said. Thus, the tapping of Mazzoni’s Dr. Vicky Borgia to actively promote women’s health. “Now that we have the staff to do this, we are going to do even more.”
Komen Philadelphia created the award to honor well-respected individual organizations that exclusively or primarily serve women in the greater Philadelphia area.
The group of awardees, according to Komen Philadelphia, provides a balance of services vital to women, serves a diverse population and focuses on meeting immediate needs, as well as building solid foundations for future success.
For more information on services at Mazzoni, visit www.mazzonicenter.org. To learn more about Komen Philadelphia, visit www.komenphiladelphia.org.