The Breakfast Club Inc.

Current Breakfast Club programs are as follows:
• Monthly Support Group Meeting: Breast cancer survivors enjoy breakfast while receiving education regarding breast health, life style choices and breast cancer treatment. Feelings are also discussed within the context of a culturally competent environment. Each month 30 to 35 women attend the support group meeting. Semi-annual support group meeting are held for children/grandchildren of survivors and for adult males impacted by the breast cancer diagnosis of the women in their lives.
• Faith On The Move: Through this program and the help of BCI mammography van partners the barriers of distance, lack of insurance and lack of transportation are removed so that women can receive mammography screening and education regarding breast health, lifestyle choices and breast self-awareness at their local churches. BCI facilitates mammography screening at 29 local churches and community venues each year. BCI has facilitated mammography screening for over 6000 women since the program began.
• Healthy Eating and Healthy Lifestyle Choices Program: Uninsured and under insured low income breast cancer survivors and women at risk for breast cancer are provided with a twelve week course on nutrition education and nutrition coaching and exercise coaching and resources. This program is aimed at reducing the risks of developing breast cancer and/or a re-occurrence of breast cancer by adopting healthy eating and life style practices. This program began in 2017. To date 100+ women have completed the program.
• The Bra and Breast Prostheses Project: Uninsured and under insured low-income women are provided with bras and breast prostheses through this program. These women are referred to Medical West for fitting and BCI pays Medical West for services and products. Over 2000 bras and 1000 breast prostheses have been distributed through this program.
• Breast Health Outside the Box: BCI volunteers visit incarcerated age appropriate women at a correctional facility in the St. Louis area. Breast health education, referral resources and instruction on breast self-awareness are provided. Over the years more than 350 incarcerated women have benefited from this program. This program was temporary discontinued due to Covid-19.
• The Comfort Kit Program: BCI provides comfort kits for women undergoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy. The kits include a scarf, a journal, educational materials, personal care items and etc. These kits are provided to about 45 newly diagnosed breast cancer survivors each year.
• The Annual BCI Breast Health Educational Seminar: BCI sponsors an annual seminar each spring. Approximately 125 women attend this event. Breast cancer experts from St. Louis University and Washington University volunteer as speakers.
• Annual Survivors Holiday Celebration and Seminar: BCI hosts a survivors' holiday celebration and educational seminar in December each year. Approximately 160 people attend this event each year. A meal is provided along with token gifts and breast health/breast cancer information.

The Breakfast Club Inc. utilizes a peer-to-peer approach in providing breast health education and in recruiting uninsured and under-insured women for mammography screening. BCI has been working with uninsured and underinsured low-income African American women since it's inception in 1997. The majority of volunteers and board members are African American. Most of the board members and volunteers are breast cancer survivors. The board members and the project director have many years of professional experience working with the target population. BCI has been very successful working with the target population in part because of its cultural competence and its close identification with the population served. BCI has strong affiliations with many St. Louis area agencies. Included in the list are Betty Jean Kerr People's Health Centers and Affinia Healthcare, both federally qualified community health centers, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis University School of Public Health, BJC Siteman Cancer Center, Missouri Baptist Breast Care Center, Mercy Cancer Center, St. Louis University Cancer Center and Gateway To Hope. BCI also has close ties with local churches, not-for-profit agencies including Susan G. Komen for the Cure St. Louis Affiliate, The American Cancer Society, The Circle of Hope Bracelet Foundation, St. Louis Men's Group Against Cancer and the Missouri Foundation For Health.