The Jackson Laboratory celebrates 60 years of LAVFW support

Date: August 6, 2008

During a visit by officers and members of the Ladies' Auxiliary to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, The Jackson Laboratory dedicated a new plaque in recognition of the organization's 60 years of philanthropic support. That support was also reaffirmed with new donations of more than $75,000 from the national and state sections, bringing total LAVFW funding to nearly $1 million.

Following the devastating 1947 forest fire that swept over Mount Desert Island and destroyed The Jackson Laboratory, the LAVFW, then led by National President Dorothy Mann, was the first donor to step forward with rebuilding funds. The LAVFW President's visit to the Laboratory has become an annual tradition, introducing LAVFW members to scientists whose work they have supported with cancer research grants. This year, National President Virginia Carman's visit coincides with the 60th anniversary of the LAVFW's first grant to The Jackson Laboratory.

In a ceremony, Jackson Laboratory President and CEO Rick Woychik, Ph.D., thanked the group for their longtime partnership and dedicated the plaque, which reads, "The Jackson Laboratory hereby commemorates 60 years of exceptional leadership in fundraising and support by the Ladies Auxiliary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The LAVFW is a true partner in The Jackson Laboratory's cancer research discoveries, and we are deeply grateful to every member of this outstanding organization."

Dr. Woychik was then presented with a $60,000 check from the National LAVFW and $15,951.73 from the Maine LAVFW. Both checks will support cancer research at The Jackson Laboratory.

Over the past six decades, the LAVFW's funding has been the largest commitment from any service organization to the Laboratory. Three buildings, countless pieces of research equipment, and funds for young investigators are among the initiatives the group has funded through its Cancer Aid & Research Program.

President Carman has been involved with the LAVFW for more than 40 years, since she was 10 years old. LAVFW colleagues joining her on the visit included Maine State President Joan Hebert; Maine Past State Presidents Jane Poulin, Dorothy Clukey and Elinor Canders; Barbara Sawyer, National Council Member for District #1 (serving Maine and New Hampshire); and past Cancer Aid & Research Chairman Glenna Bernard. The LAVFW guests heard about advances in cancer research from Jackson Laboratory Associate Professor Carol Bult, Assistant Professor Kyuson Yun and Scientific Curator Terry Hayamizu.

The Jackson Laboratory (www.jax.org) is a nonprofit biomedical research institution and National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center based in Bar Harbor, Maine. Its mission is to discover the genetic basis for preventing, treating and curing human diseases, and to enable research and education for the global biomedical community.

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Contact(s): Joyce Peterson, 207-288-6058

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600 Main Street
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Email: news@jax.org