STATE
INCOME TAX CHECK-OFF FOR
BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FEATURED (Ephrata,
PA) Pat Halpin-Murphy, President and Founder
of the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition
(PBCC), announced a press conference today
to kick off this year’s Income Tax Check-Off
for Breast and Cervical Cancer Research. The
press conference will be held on Tuesday,
January 14, 2003 at 10:30am in Conversation
Hall, room 201, of Philadelphia City Hall,
which is located on Penn Square, at Broad and
Market Streets in Philadelphia.
Featured
speakers in addition to Halpin-Murphy include
Estelle Richman, Managing Director, City of
Philadelphia Mayor’s Office; Bonnie Grant,
Deputy City Representative for the City of
Philadelphia and a breast cancer survivor;
Blondell Reynolds Brown, City Councilwoman
for the City of Philadelphia; and Dr. Susan
Lanza-Jacoby, Ph.D., Professor at Thomas Jefferson
University and 2002 Income Tax Check-Off for
Breast and Cervical Cancer Research grant recipient.
The Breast and Cervical Cancer Research Fund, landmark legislation initiated
by the PBCC in 1997, allows Pennsylvania taxpayers to donate all or part of
their state tax refund to breast and cervical cancer research. All of the money
raised goes to cancer researchers, hospitals and universities in Pennsylvania.
The average tax refund donation is $8.00 and to date, over $1 million has been
raised.
PBCC
President and Founder Pat Halpin-Murphy, a
breast cancer survivor, said, "Every single
penny of the money raised is awarded to researchers
across the state. The PBCC is a force for women
and their families and the incredible success
of this simple and effective way to raise research
dollars renews our commitment to find a cure
for breast cancer now…so our daughters
won't have to."
Halpin-Murphy
chairs the Pennsylvania Department of Health's
Cancer Advisory Board's Income Tax Check-Off
Committee, which recommends how the refund
donations should be awarded to researchers.
The
PBCC, founded in 1993, is a non-profit organization
dedicated to ending the breast cancer epidemic
through research, education, outreach and advocacy.
As the only statewide grassroots organization
that speaks to and for breast cancer survivors,
the PBCC insured the passage of several crucial
pieces of Commonwealth legislation:
- The Breast and Cervical Cancer Research Act, which allows taxpayers to donate
all or part of their state income tax refunds to breast and cervical cancer
research; and
- The Breast Cancer Reconstructive Surgery Act, which mandates insurance coverage
for post- mastectomy breast reconstruction and prohibits outpatient mastectomies.
The
PBCC serves each of the Commonwealth's 67 counties
through the Income Tax Check-Off, Mother's
Day Mammograms®, the Keystone Breast Cancer
Conference, and the photo exhibit, "67
Women, 67 Counties: Facing Breast Cancer in
Pennsylvania.” For more information about
the PBCC visit our website at www.pabreastcancer.org or
call 717/738-9567 or toll free 1-800-377-8828. |
