Ford has been teaming up with with Komen since 1993, previously serving as a long-time national series sponsor of the Komen Race for the Cure® and supporting Komen through proceeds from their Warriors in Pink apparel program.
It’s more than business, it’s personal, too—especially for Ford employees like Jim Peters, Ford Brand Content and Alliances Marketing manager. Jim joined Ford in 2010, the same year his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“While learning my role at Ford, I was also organizing a Detroit Race for Cure team of 25 family members supporting my mom,” Jim said. “The event, the people and the camaraderie—all to fight for a world without breast cancer—blew me away.”
Seeing firsthand how Komen’s work benefits people undergoing breast cancer treatment like his mother made a lasting impression on Jim and others at Ford.
“Through the years, we know many of the leaders at Ford have shared similar experiences with breast cancer,” Jim said. “Ford knows first-hand how important this mission is, which is a big reason Ford has been committed to the fight.”
In the last couple of years, Ford’s relationship with Komen has grown through its support of Komen’s Treatment Assistance Program (TAP), which provides financial support for eligible patients currently in treatment. TAP helps ease the financial burden of breast cancer by helping patients defray expenses associated with basic needs. By helping people meet their out-of-pocket costs, TAP helps eliminate the need for people to have to choose between immediate needs and life-saving care.
Today, Ford’s support allows Komen to help offset transportation costs for patients, which is one of the biggest barriers patients must overcome to stay in treatment. One recent TAP recipient was able to use the transportation support from Ford to make sure she did not miss her treatment. She needed to travel 81 miles to her treatment facility—every day for two weeks—and was struggling to cover the costs of gas in addition to other treatment related costs. Thanks to TAP, she did not miss an appointment and was able to get the care she needed.
Studies show that up to 50 percent of women report delaying medical care so they could instead use already limited funds to support their families. With support from Ford, TAP helps ease the burden of impossible decisions about whether to prioritize one’s health over the well-being of the family as a whole. Ninety-eight percent of TAP recipients recently surveyed said that TAP helped reduce financial burdens that made getting care easier, and 97 percent surveyed said that the TAP assistance contributed to improving their quality of life.
Since 2019, 1,099 grants were funded by Ford for TAP. When people visit fordcares.com, they can make purchases that directly support Komen, by selecting Susan G. Komen at checkout. One hundred percent of the net proceeds from Warriors in Pink apparel purchases go toward these transportation grants specifically in the top 10 cities where disparities in breast cancer diagnosis and mortality are the greatest.
One in eight women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime, and many of those women will face difficult decisions about how to pay for treatment. When companies like Ford join Komen, we can support these women to make sure they stay in treatment and get access to the care they need.
Learn more about Ford’s support here.
