New York, NY – July 17, 2007 – Award-winning actress Eva Longoria has been named the lead ambassador for a new public service campaign, created in partnership between the Callaway Golf Foundation and the Entertainment Industry Foundation, aimed at raising awareness and funds for ovarian cancer prevention.
In her role as the campaign ambassador, Longoria will appear in both TV and print public service announcements to encourage women to better understand their risks for the disease and to urge them to get involved in the cause. Ovarian cancer is the second leading gynecologic cancer and, the most deadly, accounting for more than 15,000 deaths annually. Because there is no accurate screening test to detect ovarian cancer, it is typically diagnosed at a late stage when it is more difficult to treat.
"I was shocked to learn that ovarian cancer is the most deadly reproductive cancer with no early detection test available," said Longoria. "That’s why I’ve teamed up with the Callaway Golf Foundation and the Entertainment Industry Foundation to educate women about ovarian cancer. Until there is an early detection test, we are urging all women to get involved in understanding their personal risk for the disease."
Through a $1 million donation to EIF’s Women’s Cancer Programs, the Callaway Golf Foundation Women’s Cancer Initiative has been established at four outstanding cancer institutions to fast-track breakthrough treatments and tests to improve ovarian cancer outcomes.
Donations to the Callaway Golf Foundation Women’s Cancer Initiative will also benefit the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation. The institutions selected for their groundbreaking work in ovarian cancer research and treatment include: Cedars-Sinai Women’s Cancer Research Institute at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute; The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; and Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins. Led by Dr. Beth Karlan, Director of the Cedars-Sinai Women’s Cancer Research Institute, this women’s cancer initiative represents a collaborative, multi-site undertaking designed to advance treatment of ovarian cancer through molecular profiling, biomarker discovery and targeted therapy development.
The Callaway Golf Foundation will also host a professional/celebrity golf tournament, the Callaway Golf Foundation Challenge, at the Riviera County Club in Los Angeles, CA in November. Proceeds from the tournament will benefit EIF’s Cancer Research Programs.
"Callaway Golf is known as the leader in innovation within the golf industry, and now the Callaway Golf Company Foundation is using that innovative thinking towards our most important initiative yet," said George Fellows, President and Chief Executive Officer of Callaway Golf. "We are enormously grateful to Eva Longoria for being our first ambassador and to the Entertainment Industry Foundation for their guidance in creating the Callaway Golf Foundation Challenge."
For more information or to learn how to get involved in the cause, please visit www.callawaygolffoundation.org.
About The Callaway Golf Foundation
The Callaway Golf Company Foundation strives to support initiatives in communities where company employees live and work. Our focus is to support programs that improve the lives of young people and provide access to essential health services. In 2007 and beyond, the Foundation will help raise awareness of women’s cancers, specifically ovarian cancer.
About Callaway Golf
Through an unwavering commitment to innovation, Callaway Golf Company creates products and services designed to make every golfer a better golfer. Callaway Golf Company, which celebrates its 25th Anniversary in 2007, manufactures and sells golf clubs and golf balls, and sells golf accessories, under the Callaway Golf., Odyssey., Top-Flite., and Ben Hogan. brands. For more information please visit www.callawaygolf.com.
About EIF’s Women’s Cancer Programs
Through its Women’s Cancer Programs, the Entertainment Industry Foundation is committed to saving lives by raising awareness about the importance of early detection of breast and reproductive cancers, providing funds to advance treatment research, early detection methods, and supporting community programs that assist the millions of women and their families at risk of or affected by cancer.
EIF has a remarkable track record in raising awareness and funds in the fight against cancer. EIF’s funding strategy is results-driven, bringing together some of the very best scientists and institutions in the country to collaborate in groundbreaking research projects to fast-track better prevention methods and improved therapies for treatment of breast and other women’s cancers. EIF grants have helped accelerate research that has contributed to the development of a breakthrough gene treatment called Herceptin., the first successful drug that seeks out a particular gene found in one of three cases of the most aggressive form of breast cancer. EIF grants have also supported other state-of-the-art therapies bringing new and innovative treatment approaches to breast cancer worldwide.
About the Entertainment Industry Foundation As a philanthropic leader of the entertainment industry, the Entertainment Industry Foundation has distributed hundreds of millions of dollars – and provided countless volunteer hours – to support charitable initiatives addressing critical health, education and social issues. For more information, visit www.eifoundation.org.
Contact:
Michhle Szynal,
Callaway Golf
760-804-4150
michele.szynal@callawaygolf.com
Brent Harney,
Bratskeir|Seidman
212-679-2233
bharney@bratskeir.com
Maurine Slutzky,
Entertainment Industry Foundation
213-240-3923
mslutzky@eifoundation.org
