About the Initiative
The Gift of Life Walk is an outreach educational intervention focused on the minority community. Committed volunteers and organizations agree to collaborate with Sisters Network to coordinate the promotion of breast health services in the African American community.

This collaboration allows breast cancer survivors to partner with volunteers and canvas a specific geographic area doing face-to-face interviews; distributing breast health education brochures, a resource list, and pink ribbons; and conducting a survey with questions geared toward promoting breast screening engagement. The community has an opportunity to meet survivors, hear their stories, and experience their triumph over breast cancer.

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Impetus for the Collaboration
The Gift of Life Walk empowers women to take control of their health care, expecting that the information provided will encourage them to be vigilant about breast cancer screening and also that they should not be fearful of the process. Many women talked to say they don’t want to know if they have cancer because it means that they will likely die. As survivors, Gift of Life Walk volunteers are living proof, that if caught early, long-term survivorship is a very likely outcome.

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Results
Volunteers are reaching women who don’t know about the Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program and who have not been getting mammograms because they don’t have insurance. Volunteers are also talking with women who are very much surprised that many of the volunteers are healthy, viable survivors.

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Lessons Learned

1. You reach more people and capture their attention by going to them.
   
2. People have lots of questions and are more likely to ask during face-to-face intimate discussions than in large groups.
   
3. It feels good to the volunteers to see the light go on as you’re talking with community members.
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Collaborating Partners

• American Cancer Society
• Faith Access to Community and Economic Development
• Karmanos Cancer Institute
• Be Fit, Inc.
• Michigan Department of Community Health Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program
• Sisters Network – Greater Metropolitan Detroit Chapter

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MCC Recognition
"Gift of Life Walk" received the Michigan Cancer Consortium’s 2007 Spirit of Collaboration Honorable Mention Award. The annual award is presented to member organizations that have done outstanding collaborative work to significantly move comprehensive cancer control activities forward in Michigan.

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Learn More
For more information about this project, please contact Sisters Network – Greater Metropolitan Detroit Chapter, P.O. Box 35094, Detroit, MI 48235 (Phone: 313-401-1589).

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last updated: 04/20/08

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