Linda Creed (legal name: Linda Creed Epstein Foundation) was founded in 1987 by friends and family of Linda Creed Epstein, a Philadelphia songwriter who died at the age of 37 after waging a 10-year battle with breast cancer.
Linda Creed was innovative from its inception %u2013 the first local organization to address breast cancer as a serious and widespread disease threatening the lives of women living in the Delaware Valley. Linda Creed empowers women and their families to learn about breast cancer, talk about it, and take control of their health and their lives. Our motto is Fighting Breast Cancer with Heart, but our vow is we will be there until breast cancer is not.
Linda Creed was the first free-standing breast cancer organization in Pennsylvania. Dedicated to the early detection and treatment of breast cancer, with the goal of reducing unnecessary suffering and death associated with this disease, the new organization immediately identified a strong, unmet community need: free mammography screenings for women who were uninsured or underinsured. The first screenings were presented in cooperation with Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, and two associated hospitals. To date, more than 15 hospitals have participated in the program, which has screened over 8,000 women. As Linda Creed grew, it engaged professional staff, and programs were created to educate women about breast health, and to provide free mammography screening to uninsured women.
The Foundation receives no government funding. All funding for its $500,000 yearly operating budget is raised through private sources and granting agencies.
