GFH Awarded $900,000 Grant from GMCR during Cervical Cancer Awareness Month

GROUNDS FOR HEALTH AWARDED $900,000 GRANT FROM GREEN MOUNTAIN COFFEE ROASTERS, INC. TO TACKLE CERVICAL CANCER IN COFFEE-GROWING REGIONS

 Non-profit expands sustainable and effective cervical cancer prevention during Cervical Cancer Awareness Month

January 17, 2012 — WATERBURY, Vt. – Grounds for Health, a Vermont-based non-profit that establishes sustainable and effective cervical cancer prevention and treatment programs in coffee-growing communities, has been awarded a three-year, $900,000 grant by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR).  The funding will enable Grounds for Health to further develop existing cervical cancer prevention programs in Nicaragua, Mexico, and Tanzania, and expand its program into Peru.

“January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, and it’s important to recognize that the greatest cancer killer of women in developing countries worldwide is cervical cancer, despite it being nearly 100% preventable,” says August Burns, Executive Director at Grounds for Health.  “With the perennial financial support from GMCR and the coffee industry, we’re working toward a future where cervical cancer in coffee-growing communities is a thing of the past.”

Created in 1996, Grounds for Health establishes community-driven, locally sustainable programs in rural coffee-growing areas that work to prevent cervical cancer through early screening and same-day treatment of pre-cancerous cells.  Over the past 15 years, Grounds for Health has screened nearly 25,000 women directly for cervical cancer.  The organization’s current focus is on training local healthcare professionals in an affordable, replicable and sustainable cervical cancer screening and treatment method called the Single Visit Approach.  To date, Grounds for Health has trained more than 250 local doctors and nurses in this same-day screening model, as well as 400 community health promoters, each of whom now has the skills to carry on this important work in their communities, reaching tens of thousands of women in the future.

“We are proud to contribute to Grounds for Health’s important work in coffee-growing communities,” says Colleen Bramhall, GMCR Coffee Community Outreach Manager.  “The partnerships Grounds for Health forges with coffee cooperatives help break down barriers that stand between women and the care they need.  We are proud of the accomplishments of our Waterbury neighbor and look forward to continuing our collaboration.”

In the words of Fatima Ismael, cervical cancer survivor and general manager of the Soppexcca coffee cooperative, a long-time partner of both companies, “I think until my last breath, I will be eternally grateful for what [Grounds for Health] has done for us.”

Find Grounds for Health on Facebook (http://facebook.com/groundsforhealth) and Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/grounds4health).

About Grounds for Health

Grounds for Health is a 501(c)(3) organization that establishes sustainable and effective cervical cancer prevention and treatment programs in coffee-growing communities. Founded by a member of the coffee industry, the organization’s goal is to decrease the rate of cervical cancer in coffee regions. Grounds for Health was the recipient of the 2011 Sustainability Award from the Specialty Coffee Association of America.

Contact Information

Contact: Justin Mool
Phone: (802) 876-7835
email: justin@groundsforhealth.org