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NEW YORK, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- This weekend, 2,600 participants will walk 39.3 miles throughout New York City to kick off the Avon Walk Around the World for Breast Cancer, a series of nearly 40 breast cancer awareness and fundraising events held in coordination across the globe throughout the month of October in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and celebration of the Avon Foundation 50th Anniversary.

The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer New York begins at the South Street Seaport in Manhattan Saturday, October 1st. Walkers will trek up to 26.2 miles through the Big Apple's boroughs Saturday, camp out at Randall's Island Saturday night, and walk another 13.1 miles back to South Street Seaport Sunday, culminating with a moving closing ceremony. To launch the global event series, a New York breast cancer survivor will travel to Spain with a Global Connection Ribbon, which has been worn throughout all eight of the 2005 Avon Walk for Breast Cancer events in the US, and will participate in an awareness and fundraising event in that country. The Global Connection Ribbon Tour is sponsored by Novartis Oncology, and Global Connection Ribbons will be passed from survivor to survivor in awareness and fundraising events held in coordination in the following countries:

October 1-2: Avon Walk for Breast Cancer/New York Sintra, Portugal Bucharest, Romania Caguas, Puerto Rico Munich, Germany Mexico City, Mexico * October 4: Bratisalva, Slovakia October 5: Milan, Italy Moscow, Russia October 7: Sofia, Bulgaria October 8: Budapest, Hungary Warsaw, Poland October 9: Paris, France * October 13: London, UK Athens, Greece October 15: Sao Paulo, Brazil* Kylv, Ukraine ** October 16: Kagoshima City, Japan Dublin, Ireland ** Madrid, Spain * October 19: Santiago, Chile October 21: Shui Guan Great Wall, China * Prague, Czech Republic ** October 22: Buenos Aries, Argentina October 23: Manila, Phillipines ** Istanbul, Turkey ** Newcastle, Australia October 29: Taipei, Taiwan October 30: Lima, Peru

While breast cancer events are fairly common in the US, the Avon Walk Around the World for Breast Cancer events will be the first of their kind in many of the participating countries. These events will help break barriers that prevent women from accessing the information and care they need, particularly in areas where breast cancer is still a stigma or not addressed at all. Getty Images has donated their services and will photograph a selection of these international events, including the walk along the Great Wall of China, showing the cultural similarities and differences in the way women and men approach breast cancer around the world.

At the conclusion of the Avon Walk Around the World event series, survivors from selected participating countries will gather in New York City to be recognized at the Avon Foundation 50th Anniversary Awards Ceremony. In addition, some will attend the Avon Foundation scientific symposium -- Breast Cancer 2005: From Discovery to Delivery -- and partake in an Avon Foundation- American Cancer Society University, a weeklong training course that will allow them to strengthen breast cancer programs in their homelands.

The Avon Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity committed to the issues of breast cancer and domestic violence, with a focus on supporting the underserved. Founded in 1955, the Avon Foundation celebrates its half century milestone in October 2005. The largest program of the Foundation, the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, launched in 1992, and as of 2004 more than $350 million has been raised worldwide for access to care and finding a cure for breast cancer.

* Getty Images to photograph the Breast Cancer Awareness Event. ** Representative breast cancer survivor from will come to New York to participate the Avon Foundation events.Avon Foundation

Web site: http://www.avon.com/

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