Planned Parenthood Replaces Komen Grant With Online Push : Bloomberg personally donates $250,000

[jefferson_dem]

Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Planned Parenthood Federation of America may have already replaced most of the $680,000 in funding it lost from Susan G. Komen for the Cure for its breast- cancer prevention programs, the group said today.

Riding a wave of Internet-based appeals, Planned Parenthood received pledges of $400,000 from 6,000 donors as of 2 p.m. yesterday, according to Tait Sye, a spokesman. Also, the Amy and Lee Fikes’ Foundation, run by the chief executive officer of closely-held Bonanza Oil Co. in Dallas, has promised a $250,000 gift to provide immediate help, according to a statement on the Planned Parenthood website.

Planned Parenthood, now in the process of updating those numbers, yesterday said it was starting an “emergency fund” to fill the funding gap. The decision by the Dallas-based Komen group has spurred a tsunami of online comment and petitions that added political fuel to the dispute and involved corporate funders for Komen, including Yoplait, the French yogurt maker.

A posting on Facebook, a social media website, touting Yoplait’s connection with the Komen-sponsored Race for the Cure drew responses from users upset with the decision. Greg Zimprich, a spokesman, said in an e-mailed response to questions that the company has “a long history of supporting women in the fight against breast cancer” and wasn’t involved in Komen’s decision on the grant.

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http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-02/planned-parenthood-replaces-komen-grant-with-online-push.html

Breaking: In wake of Komen controversy, Bloomberg says he will personally give $250,000 to Planned Parenthood.
http://twitter.com/#!/NYTMetro/statuses/165163009684160512

[ProSense]

1. Wow!

Take that RW kooks!

[gopiscrap]

2. Good deal

I went downtown and gave 25.00 that's all I could afford..it was mainly a symbolic donation!

[Uncle Joe]

3. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, jefferson_dem.

[suffragette]

4. Great news - More here on Bloomberg's donation

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/02/bloomberg-to-give-250000-to-planned-parenthood/

Mr. Bloomberg, a billionaire with a long-term interest in public health, said he would give Planned Parenthood Federation of America a $250,000 matching gift — he will donate $1 for every new dollar Planned Parenthood raises up to $250,000.

“Politics have no place in health care,” he said in a statement. “Breast cancer screening saves lives and hundreds of thousands of women rely on Planned Parenthood for access to care. We should be helping women access that care, not placing barriers in their way.”

The controversy erupted this week when the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation said it would not renew most of the grants it had been making to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screening. The Komen foundation had been giving about $700,000 a year to Planned Parenthood.

Cecile Richards, the president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, issued a statement saying, “On behalf of hundreds of thousands of women nationwide who rely on Planned Parenthood for breast cancer education and screening, we are enormously grateful to Mayor Bloomberg. This contribution will help ensure that politics don’t interfere with women having access to health care. People all across the country have stepped forward in the last 48 hours to offer help and support, and the mayor’s donation will help ensure that no woman is denied breast cancer services because of right-wing political pressure campaigns.”