Local History
The mission of Sisters Network Greensboro NC is to save lives by educating women about the devastating effects of breast cancer, and to serve as a resource for health information pertinent to African American women.
The inspiration to start Sisters Network Greensboro NC came as a result of a breast cancer study conducted by the Greensboro Health Disparities Collaborative from 2006-2009. The purpose of this study, CCARES: Cancer Care and Racial Equity Study, was to compare the quality of breast cancer treatment for African American and White women.
The study was a collaboration of many organizations: The UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, the Moses Cone Health System, the UNC program on Ethnicity, Culture and health Outcomes and the Partnership Project, an organization committed to “undoing racism” in Guilford County. Based on the responses from the participants in the study, it was determined that there was a lack of support groups addressing the needs of African American women facing breast cancer in Greensboro.
Nora Jones received her breast cancer diagnosis in 2007 and also experienced difficulty finding a breast cancer support group where she felt welcomed. For this reason, she set out to establish a Sisters Network® Inc. affiliate chapter in Greensboro after she spoke with Sisters Network members in Durham and in Charlotte. The application involved a lengthy process which began in November 2009. A local planning group held a dinner in February 2010 to determine the level of interest in having a Sisters Network affiliate chapter in Greensboro. Sixty-one women attended, and were very enthusiastic about the possibility of establishing a chapter of Sisters Network.
On July 27, 2010, the Sisters Network Greensboro NC received its charter of establishment.The founding board members are:
- Treana A. Bowling (survivor)
- Patricia Norman (survivor)
- Kim D. Pemberton (survivor)
- Linda Summers (survivor)
- Nora Jones (survivor)
- Barbara Akins (associate member)
- Christina Yongue (associate member)
Sisters Network Greensboro participates in the national initiatives and has become involved in local breast cancer awareness programs. The national program initiatives include an annual 5K walk/run, Stop the Silence National African American Breast Cancer Walk, the Pink Ribbon Awareness initiative, which involves outreach to churches to increase the number of women obtaining mammograms and to increase general knowledge of Sisters Network affiliate chapter members, and the Gift for Life Block Walk®, whereby affiliate chapter members and other groups collaborate to coordinate the promotion of breast health awareness in the African American community by canvassing door-to-door to distribute information on breast health education.
With the support of survivors and the general community, Sisters Network Greensboro will take part in these national initiatives as well as establish local activities that aim to reach women wherever they may be along the continuum of care, from prevention/early detection to survivorship beyond treatment. The membership of Sisters Network of Greensboro is open to breast cancer survivors as well as those women who have never been diagnosed with breast cancer but wish to support the work of the organization.