The 100 Club empowers women to get life-saving mammograms
Parkland’s ambassador program uses education, action to fight breast cancer
Education and early detection are key in the fight against breast cancer, but getting there alone can be both nerve-wracking and confusing. That’s why Parkland Health is creating a culture of support and sisterhood with The 100 Club, a community ambassador program for breast health awareness.
“We know that we can’t win the fight alone, so we are in search of community ambassadors to help us get the word out,” said Aeisha Taylor, manager of mammography outreach and education at Parkland. “Sometimes a small nudge or affirmation from the women in your life can take you a long way.”
The 100 Club got its name from its sole mission, to get 100 ambassadors to make a pledge to encourage at least one woman per month to get what could be a life-saving mammogram. It can be something as simple as sending a text message, an email, making a post on social media or even hanging a flier in their neighborhood. Parkland will provide ambassadors with information, resources and hand-outs to be successful in their mission to raise breast cancer awareness in the communities where they live and work.
“We want to make sure that we are arming our ambassadors with the correct information,” Taylor emphasized. “Oftentimes we hear ‘my cousin told me I needed this,’ ‘I heard my friend say this was true’ so we want to make sure the information that is being spread in the community is truthful and informative.”
But education is only one piece. The real magic happens when ambassadors drive their community to action by getting them signed up for a mammogram or RSVPing to an outreach event. Ambassadorship is not limited to individuals. Organizations, faith communities and community groups are all invited to sign up as well.
“What we found is that a lot of people are already ambassadors, whether they know it or not,” Taylor said, noting her experiences with women taking extra handouts at educational classes and signing up their friends, cousins and sisters for future events.
The 100 Club was born when Taylor and her team realized the true potential of word of mouth as it relates to breast health. In engaging with women during outreach and educational events, the team noticed a pattern in their conversations. A large number of women were getting their information from other women in their circles, whether that was a coworker who had recently gotten a mammogram or a friend who survived breast cancer herself.
To become an ambassador, sign up here.
To learn more about Parkland’s services located in the Moody Center for Breast Health, visit www.parklandhealth.org/comprehensive-breast-center.
For more information about Parkland services, visit www.parklandhealth.org.
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