Saving Lives, Supporting Families: Four Cancer-Care Groups Receive $200K in NVIDIA Grants

by Liz Austin

Lacking insurance, Gaby, from Brooklyn, New York, fell behind in having regular mammograms, which can be lifesavers. But after spotting a mobile care clinic run by the American-Italian Cancer Foundation, which offers free scans, she had the chance to get one.

“I’m now exactly the age my mother was when she was diagnosed with breast cancer,” Gaby told clinic staff. “When I heard you would be right outside my apartment, I knew it was time for me to start getting an annual mammogram again.”

The American-Italian Cancer Foundation’s mission of providing screening and exams for underserved women in New York helped earn it one of four $50,000 grants awarded by the NVIDIA Foundation to nonprofits providing cancer care and support services.

Other recipients include an organization that runs outdoor adventure programs for young adults impacted by cancer, a group that supports women suffering from breast and other reproductive cancers, and an organization in Bangladesh providing palliative cancer care for children in terminal stages of the disease.

The NVIDIA Foundation, our employee-led corporate giving arm, grants $200,000 each year to four groups around the world through its Compute the Cure Cancer Care grant program. The effort is part of the Foundation’s Compute the Cure initiative to advance the fight against cancer. Through grants and employee fundraising, Compute the Cure has directed more than $4.5 million to cancer-fighting causes.

Nearly 60 organizations submitted proposals this year to win a Compute the Cure Cancer Care grant. They were evaluated and narrowed to seven finalists by a group of more than 50 NVIDIA employees from around the world. All NVIDIANs then had the chance to vote for their top choice, with three more selected by the NVIDIA Foundation board. Learn more about them below.

American-Italian Cancer Foundation

More than 1,000 women in New York City die from breast cancer each year. Early diagnosis can reduce mortality, but lack of health insurance, poverty and ethnic marginalization prevent many women from receiving regular screenings. An NVIDIA grant will be used to hold 20 mobile breast cancer screening events across the city’s five boroughs, providing no-cost mammograms, clinical breast exams and breast education to as many as 500 medically underserved women, ages 40 and over.

ASHIC Foundation

Children in Bangladesh needing cancer treatment must travel to Dhaka, the capital city, where ASHIC operates a 24/7, nine-bed palliative center for youth in terminal stages of the disease. As costs of medication and travel are often prohibitive for those in remote villages, an NVIDIA grant will cover a mobile clinic to provide transportation services and palliative care to an estimated 600 children in rural villages.

First Descents

First Descents offers free outdoor adventure programs and an ongoing community for young adults impacted by cancer, focusing on the development of empowering outdoor skills, self-efficacy and social connection. An NVIDIA grant will be used to expand First Descents’ programming in 16 cities across the U.S., reaching more than 3,000 survivors.

Pink Ribbon Girls

Pink Ribbon Girls supports women suffering from breast and other reproductive cancers and their families by providing essential support services. An NVIDIA grant will be used to expand the organization’s programs to Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, providing nearly 300 people with educational materials, house cleanings, transportation to treatment, cancer-fighting meals and peer support.