Founded in 2001, the Pink Pony Fund of The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation is our longstanding effort to support cancer-fighting organizations around the world. Through the Pink Pony Fund, we aim to reduce disparities in cancer care and prevention to help ensure that people in underserved communities have access to quality treatment at an earlier, more curable stage.
The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation Announces $25 Million Commitment to Five Cancer Centers Across America with Goal of Reducing Disparities in Cancer Care in Underserved Communities
In 2022, The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation announced that it would provide $25 million in new grant funding to establish or expand five Ralph Lauren cancer centers, aimed at reducing disparities in cancer care and access across underserved communities in the United States.
The funding will benefit institutions with a National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation, including the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Prevention at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Ralph Lauren Cancer Center, as well as three additional locations that will be confirmed in collaboration with Conquer Cancer®, the ASCO Foundation. The White House recognized The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation’s philanthropic pledge as a leading example of how the public and private sectors are coming together and answering its call to action around its Cancer Moonshot mission to accelerate progress against the disease.
The Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Prevention at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center
In 2023, the the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Prevention at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center opened to help address disparities in healthcare in Washington, D.C. Building on Ralph Lauren’s longstanding partnership with Georgetown Lombardi, this Center is aimed at helping residents get the cancer care they need by bringing a dynamic patient navigation model and comprehensive cancer resources to underserved communities in Southeast Washington.
Services at this newly remodeled facility build upon the programming and impact of the previous practices of the Capital Breast Care Center, which had been a fixture in the community for more than 15 years. The Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Prevention offers comprehensive cancer resources to the diverse populations disproportionately impacted by breast, lung, colorectal, prostate and other cancers — from screening to treatment, when necessary, through to survivorship. The Center also includes a wider array of cancer-focused services, targeted outreach and education in collaboration with MedStar Health, Georgetown’s academic health system partner.
This is the first new named Center to be developed through The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation’s $25 million commitment to expand or establish five Ralph Lauren-named cancer centers aimed at reducing disparities in cancer care and access in underserved communities across the United States.
In 2003, the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care was established with the nation’s leading cancer center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, in New York City, to provide high-quality, compassionate cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment to all and help reduce health disparities and improve outcomes.
Since it was founded, MSK Ralph Lauren Center (MSK RLC) has been a beacon for accessible, compassionate cancer care for residents of Harlem, New York and beyond. MSK RLC’s doctors and staff offer care in a warm and welcoming environment.
MSK RLC’s supportive services include a renowned patient navigation program, financial counseling and an array of other social services. There is also a medically tailored food pantry supplemented with nutritional counseling. MSK RLC is highly active in the community — it provides health education and health screenings, and promotes health and wellness for area residents. In 2022, MSK RLC had about 10,000 patient visits and performed around 1,900 mammograms.
In 2019, The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation began a partnership with the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health (The Center) to address increasing disparities related to cancer care in tribal communities.
In 2020, through a three-year grant from the Foundation, The Center conducted a community-based and locally-designed campaign to better understand barriers and facilitators to cancer care within Navajo and White Mountain Apache communities in the southwestern United States. Through hearing different perspectives from community stakeholders – including tribal Community Advisory Boards, traditional practitioners, and Indian Health Service providers – the Center learned about barriers to cancer screening, breakages in the continuum of care. This campaign indicated an urgent need for community-based, culturally relevant interventions to improve breast cancer screening rates in these communities.
In 2023, The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation committed an additional three-year grant to Johns Hopkins. This grant will support the development of an innovative tablet-based intervention to improve breast cancer screening rates through addressing local barriers and myths associated with breast cancer. These tablet-based interventions have potential to educate Native American women on the importance of a regular mammography as well as provide information in Native languages, featuring trusted local thought leaders and cultural experts, tailored to meet local needs and understanding.
