Five community groups are getting a grant boost from the UVA Cancer Center

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - Five community groups are getting a boost from the UVA Cancer Center to continue and advance they work they do.

The center is giving out grants of up to $10,000 to address cancer-related disparities. This is in celebration of the designation of the center as a nationally recognized “Comprehensive Cancer Center.” UVA wants to thank the community partners that helped it earn this title.

“It’s just exciting to see that innovation and collaboration really come from the grassroots level from the community,” Lindsay Hauser with the UVA Cancer Center said.

Prevention is a team effort, and Hauser says she is making sure the center’s partners have the money to help.

The Charlottesville Free Clinic is one of the nonprofits receiving $10,000. That money is going towards early detection.

“We know that trends with cancer screenings have been trending downwards because of the lasting impact of the pandemic, and people not going to see the doctor. So our goal with this money from UVA is to ensure that all of our patients have a cancer screening as part of their primary care visit,” Willa Barnhardt said.

The clinic provides that service at no cost, and it can continue to do so because of the grant money.

“We also want to provide cancer education that’s accessible to all these patients. So, when I say accessible, I mean that it’s written with health literacy in mind,” Barnhardt said.

The UVA Cancer Center hopes to make these grants an annual opportunity, and applications should open back up this summer.

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