HEAL
Health Equity Ambassador Links
Through our partnership with The Links, Incorporated, the American Cancer Society is committed to addressing the unequal burden of cancer in diverse communities. African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, and uninsured individuals are more likely to develop and die from cancer than the general U.S. population. Limited access to quality health care greatly impacts one’s ability to access early detection resources. This often results in late-stage diagnoses, which limits life-saving treatment options.
Mission
To address cancer disparities by developing capacity to educate, mobilize, and engage African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, and other diverse communities in cancer risk reduction.
Program Goals
Training
Train Links members to deliver cancer prevention and early detection (breast and colorectal cancer) messages in the community
Health Resources
Provide linkages to community health resources
Improve Awareness
Increase awareness of breast and colon cancer screening importance through one-on-one and group education sessions
Educate
Educate communities on the importance of nutrition and physical activity in cancer risk reduction
Our Ambassadors
Health Equity Ambassador Links work in their local communities to educate African American/Black, Asian, Hispanic/Latino, Native American and rural populations on cancer. Ambassadors provide outreach and education to the community to help individuals prevent cancer and find cancer early.
To date, more than 2,000 ambassadors have been trained reaching close to 500,000 people in communities across the country.
Ambassador Training
Our Ambassadors complete 2-3 hours of online and in-person training specific to breast cancer, colorectal cancer and motivational interviewing. These trainings are accessible through the ACS Volunteer Learning Center.
Responsibilities
- Establish annual action plan integrating cancer education into chapter programming
- Represent American Cancer Society in the community
- Communicate effectively with diverse audiences
- Provide accurate cancer information
- Participate with health fairs and other community events
- Network with community members
- Log event participation and contact with community members
- Refer questions/request back to HEAL Committee
- Provide annual reports to HEAL Committee to share activities and impact who shares with ACS Health Equity Ambassador Links Program