Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance Inc

THE MINNESOTA OVARIAN CANCER ALLIANCE IS DEDICATED TO RAISING AWARENESS AND PROVIDING EDUCATION AND SUPPORT TO WOMEN AND FAMILIES IMPACTED BY OVARIAN CANCER AND ADVANCING THE RESEARCH NEEDED TO DETECT THE DISEASE EARLY AND TREAT IT EFFECTIVELY.

RESEARCHMOCA IS A LEADER IN PRIVATE NONPROFIT FUNDING FOR OVARIAN CANCER RESEARCH. WE PROVIDE RESEARCH GRANTS THROUGH TWO SEPARATE GRANTMAKING MECHANISMS. THE FIRST IS FOR INVESTIGATORS IN MINNESOTA WORKING ON OVARIAN, PRIMARY PERITONEAL OR FALLOPIAN TUBE CANCER RESEARCH. WE CONDUCT A COMPETITIVE GRANT MAKING PROCESS WHICH INCLUDES A STRINGENT REVIEW BY BOTH NATIONAL EXPERT SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHERS AND CONSUMERS TO SELECT THE MOST IMPACTFUL PROJECTS. IN 2022, MOCA PROVIDED EIGHT GRANTS TO MINNESOTA-BASED RESEARCHERS FOR OVARIAN CANCER RESEARCH PROJECTS TOTALING $987,000. IN 2022, MOCA AWARDED ONE GRANT OF $100,000 TO A NATIONAL RESEARCHER FOR EARLY DETECTION RESEARCH.

AWARENESS AND OUTREACHMOCA INCREASED AWARENESS ABOUT OVARIAN CANCER AND SUPPORT FOR SURVIVORS THROUGH VARIOUS PUBLIC EVENTS IN 2022 SUCH AS HOM TEAL STRIDES FOR OVARIAN CANCER, TIE IT TEAL WITH THE TWINS OVARIAN CANCER AWARENESS NIGHT, OVARIAN CANCER AWARENESS EVENT AT A MINNESOTA WILD GAME, UNLEASH THE SHE 5K 10K RACE, MOCA LIGHTS THE NIGHT INITIATIVE (20 LANDMARKS LIT THROUGHOUT MINNESOTA AND BEYOND), 21 AWARENESS INITIATIVES, AND FOUR EDUCATIONAL EVENTS INCLUDING THREE LIVING WELL MEETINGS AND ONE LUNCH AND LEARN MEETING. MOCA HAS A STRONG MEDIA PRESENCE AND PLACED 32 UNIQUE STORIES ABOUT OVARIAN CANCER ON ALL LOCAL TV STATIONS, A NATIONAL NEWS ORGANIZATION AND IN SEVERAL PRINT OUTLETS THROUGHOUT MINNESOTA. MOCA EVENTS AND MEDIA STORIES INCLUDE INFORMATION ABOUT OVARIAN CANCER, ITS IMPACT ON WOMEN, FAMILIES AND THE COMMUNITY- AND WAYS TO IMPROVE SURVIVAL. MOCA PRODUCES A MONTHLY MOCA MESSENGER NEWSLETTER AND REGULAR UPDATES VIA EMAIL. ADDITIONALLY, MOCA RAISES AWARENESS ABOUT OVARIAN CANCER THROUGH OUR SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS INCLUDING FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, LINKEDIN AND YOUTUBE.

PATIENT AND CAREGIVER SUPPORTMOCA ORGANIZES A WIDE RANGE OF EDUCATIONAL AND SUPPORT MEETINGS FOR WOMEN AND FAMILIES IMPACTED BY OVARIAN CANCER INCLUDING: TWO MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS, THREE PUBLIC EDUCATION MEETINGS, TWO ONGOING MONTHLY SUPPORT GROUPS, THREE YOUNG SURVIVORS SUPPORT MEETINGS AND ONE MEN OF MOCA EVENT. MOCA PROVIDES MENTORING THROUGHOUT THEIR MOCA MENTOR PROGRAM AND MEN OF MOCA MENTOR PROGRAM. MOCA ALSO PROVIDED WEBSITE RESOURCES, CRITICAL ONE ON ONE SUPPORT TO OVARIAN CANCER SURVIVORS, FAMILIES AND CAREGIVERS VIA PHONE, EMAIL, AND IN PERSON AT OUR OFFICE 40 HOURS PER WEEK. IN ADDITION, MOCA PROVIDED CARES KITS FULL OF COMFORT ITEMS FOR WOMEN WITH OVARIAN CANCER AND MOCA DREAM AWARDS FOR WOMEN WITH OVARIAN CANCER TO REALIZE DREAMS. IN 2022 MOCA LAUNCHED MOCA WALKING GROUPS ONCE A MONTH FOR OVARIAN CANCER SURVIVORS AND THEIR LOVED ONES TO WALK TOGETHER AND CONNECT.