PROGRAMS, RESEARCH & ORGANIZATIONS WE SUPPORT
Career Connect: Connecting Today’s Employees to Tomorrow’s Workforce.
The Val Skinner Foundation and Rutgers Cancer institute are partnering with Discovery Education's Career Connect to provide classrooms with the opportunity to virtually connect with and learn from our incredible team of innovators dedicated to the detection, treatment and care of patients with cancer.
Career Connect is a new two-way platform designed to make the connection between classrooms and the diverse skills, industries, and people it takes to power our world. By reducing barriers to employee volunteerism, equipping educators with seamless career content integration, and ensuring equity of access to opportunities for all students, Decoding Cancer's participation in Career Connect will have the power to transform the way classrooms can understand real-world applications to the concepts being learned, hear the latest advances being used in industry that haven’t yet reached textbooks, and prepare for the future of working in the field of medicine.
BioCONECT Oncology Leadership Development (BOLD)
High school aged students are invited to apply for the BOLD Camp - a unique summer learning opportunity for students who have an interest in learning about cellular biology and genetics of cancer, as well as the diverse careers connected to the field. During this week-long interactive experience, students will increase their understanding of cancer-related causes, diagnostic tools, treatment options and current research through the context of breast cancer. More importantly, they will identify risk reduction strategies and learn first-hand about diverse careers related to the field as they live the experience among the professionals at Rutgers Cancer Institute!
BOLD is open to high school students entering the 10th, 11th, or 12th grade in Fall. Applications for 2025 are due March 31st.
Click here for details and more information, email BOLD@cinj.rutgers.edu, or call 732-235-4160.
The Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey is the state’s first and only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. As such, it is uniquely positioned to bring state-of-the-art clinical services and programs and access to clinical research trials to New Jersey and surrounding areas.
Funds donated through the LIFE Event support the LIFE Center. Founded in 2002 to recognize the advocacy and leadership role of Val Skinner and the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), the LIFE Center was established to provide increasing awareness of and supporting programs for young women with an increased risk for breast cancer.
Through a multidisciplinary team of breast cancer experts including medical oncologists, surgeons, geneticists, genetic counselors, psychologists, and nurse practitioners, The LIFE Center provides genetic counseling and risk assessment for women at risk. Experts housed there study factors that may cause early onset breast cancer and work to develop effective preventive strategies for young women at risk and their families.
The LIFE Center has also developed a familial cancer registry database of individuals seen through the programs. Researchers with permission to access a cancer registry can study factors implicated in cancer development including the genetic and environmental causes, ultimately leading to early detection, prevention, improved treatments and benefits for research.
LIFE funds have been used to expand the LIFE Center services to numerous New Jersey area hospitals.
Visit Rutgers Cancer Institute
The Young Survival Coalition (YSC) is the only international, non-profit network of breast cancer survivors and supporters dedicated to the concerns and issues that are unique to young women affected by breast cancer. The Young Survival Coalition has used LIFE grants specifically for peer support and educational programs for young women living with metastiatic breast cancer.
To learn more about YSC, visit www.youngsurvival.org.
“Decoding Cancer” is a ground-breaking collection of standards-aligned interactive classroom resources created by a visionary group of breast cancer advocates, experts, and educators - the Val Skinner Foundation, the LIFE Center at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey in collaboration with the Rutgers School of Public Health, and Discovery Education. Decoding Cancer facilitates meaningful discussions among high school teachers, students, and families through comprehensive digital resources.
An innovative and interactive high school biology and genetics education program featuring the BioCONECT (Biology of Cancer, Online Education Connecting Teens) curriculum, Decoding Cancer enhances science literacy and increases cancer education and awareness among youth. Click here to see a flyer about the program.
Visit DecodingCancer.org
The Val Skinner Foundation in collaboration with Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, founded Komen On the Go™ in 2004. The mobile experience tour educated and engaged people of all ages in the breast cancer movement for more than eight years. From inner cities to community festivals; public universities to neighborhood centers, Komen on the Go’s signature bright pink vehicles toured the country teaching Americans everywhere to take charge of their breast health and empowering participants to share information with friends and join the breast cancer movement. The tour visited communities across the United States, educating and elevating thousands of people with messages of hope.
Visit Komen.org
In 2013, The Val Skinner Foundation and its LIFE Event partners helped launch Young Women Walking, or YW2, an event for women age 16-23 targeted at raising awareness for breast cancer. The events took place on the Saturday of each Susan G. Komen 3-Day® event and included a 20-mile walk, special reception in the Val Skinner tent and an evening of activities to celebrate the mission and activation of advocacy for research. YW2 is designed to not only educate this generation, but to activate their advocacy for research.
The Val Skinner Foundation, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) worked together to co-conceptualize the Young Women’s Initiative, a multifaceted effort organized to educate young women and other audiences about the risk of breast cancer and the importance of early detection through various programs. Programs coordinated by these organizations and funded by LIFE continue to move this initiative.