The Pink Pumpkin Patch Foundation, a Colorado nonprofit corporation, has awarded Dr. Eva McGhee of Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) in Los Angeles, Calif. with a $15,000 grant to investigate breast cancer research.
The Pink Pumpkin Patch Foundation is comprised of pumpkin growers throughout the country, who since in 2012 have committed to donating funds for every pink pumpkin sold to organizations dedicated to breast cancer research. FFA and 4H students also raised substantial funds for the foundation through pink pumpkin sales for the second year.
To be eligible to receive its grant, the Pink Pumpkin Patch Foundation asks that its potential grantees spend no more than 20% of the funding in administrative costs, present proof of their 501(c)3 status and not be otherwise sufficiently funded.
“As we head into year four, we want to thank all the people who make it possible for us to fund these grants year after year,” said Carol Holsopple-Froese, president of the Pink Pumpkin Patch Foundation and a breast cancer survivor. “We are so happy to be able to award this grant to Dr. McGhee; it is always our hope that our growers’ efforts and contributions are bringing us closer to a cure.”
Dr. McGhee’s research focus is on Precision medicine-translational research in genomics/genetic instability: investigating the relationships between human papillomaviruses (HPV) and breast cancer, HPV and Cervical Cancer-at the DNA and protein levels, HPV and oral cancer-mouse model, and how HPV drives HIV infection to malignancy-as it relates to genomic instability and DNA repair.
“I am so thankful to receive this grant that the Pink Pumpkin Patch Foundation has so gracefully awarded me,” said Dr. McGhee. “Being from the Midwest, agriculture has and will always have a special place in my heart and I am honored to accept this grant to which so many hardworking farmers across the country have contributed.”
About the Pink Pumpkin Patch Foundation
The Pink Pumpkin Patch Foundation was created in 2012 to aid in the fight against breast cancer. The foundation is made up of America’s pumpkin growers who have committed to giving a percentage of proceeds from every pink pumpkin sold to organizations involved in breast cancer research. The foundation will oversee the donations and ensure that the funds go directly to reputable organizations with the highest percentage of dollars spent on actual research.
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