2025 Annual Report online version

ANNUAL REPORT 2025

For patients.

For survivors.

For life.

Survivor Dinely Nunez

OUR 2025 IMPACT

390 3,801 $31,350 $157,961

Counseling sessions Rides to medical appointments Nutrition assistance Rent, mortgage & utilities paid

11,241 $282,861

Served in Alabama & Mississippi

Financial Assistance Provided

Survivor Jordan Collins with Sara Cox

OUR MISSION Forge supports, empowers and improves medical access, health outcomes, and quality of life for Alabama and Mississippi breast cancer patients, survivors and those who love them from the day of diagnosis through the rest of life.

OUR PURPOSE Breast cancer, the most common cancer in women, has one of the highest survival rates – but not if you live in Alabama or Mississippi. Forge is working to reduce breast cancer mortality in the Deep South by breaking down barriers to care.

OUR APPROACH We find there are 3 major obstacles to treatment compliance and better health outcomes for breast cancer patients: 1). Transportation. By providing gas cards and Lyft rides (where available and costefficient), we ensure patients can get to their chemotherapy and radiation appointments.

2). Finances. Breast cancer is expensive. It can lead to extended time off of work, job loss, debt, eviction, and more. We provide gift cards for groceries and help with essential bills during active treatment.

3). Mental Health. Being able to get up and fight another day can be hard. Forge helps in two primary ways: free mental health counseling for patients and their families and peer matching, connecting patients with trained breast cancer survivor volunteers who provide personalized support from someone who has actually “been there.”

By innovating at the intersection of health care and community support, Forge is improving survival rates, ensuring breast cancer patients in the Deep South have the resources and support they need to survive and thrive beyond their diagnosis.

OUR GROWTH In October, 2025, Forge expanded our services into the state or Mississippi. With the highest breast cancer mortality rate in the country and with 52% of the state being rural, the needs of breast cancer patients in Mississippi are similar to those in Alabama. Thanks to funding from the National Breast Cancer Foundation and Daiichi Sankyo, Forge now provides many of the same services in Mississippi as we do in Alabama, like help with transportation to medical appointments, financial assistance with essential bills, and mental health counseling for the patient and family.

Our Mississippi Client Services Coordinator, Kristi Jeter, is a registered nurse who earned her Bachelor of Nursing degree from Auburn University. She has worked in healthcare for more than 34 years, with a primary focus on women’s health.

Kristi works with our clients to provide individualized support, identify needs, and connects clients with tailored resources to meet their specific needs.

Jennifer Caraway, our Mississippi Hardship Coordinator, earned her Bachelor of Science at Florida State University and her Juris Doctorate from Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

She has worked in both the legal and nonprofit sectors, most notably at the YWCA of Central Alabama for 15 years. As the Mississippi Hardship Coordinator, Jennifer works with breast cancer patients in active treatment to assist with financial assistance with essential bills so our clients can afford to focus on healing rather than rent.

For support in Mississippi, call (601) 207-4586

Mississippi Survivor Angie Maxwell

OUR TEAM

Jennifer Caraway Mississippi Hardship Fund Coordinator Michelle Horn Brown ator Community Outreach Coordin

ip Mississ

e te r inator Kristi J s C o o rd e ic v r e tS pi Clien

Yadira Robayna Hispanic Client Services Coordinator

Meg Lovett

VP Communications & Develop

ment

oberts Lauren R r e Directo Executiv

Janet Dees Alabama Client Services Coordi

nator

Kiya Holmes

Mastectomy Programs Coordinator

Frances M

cNeal

ordinator upport Co S d n a r e Volunte

Alaina Pin

VP Strateg ic

Summer Spain

rdinator HIspanic Outreach & Lifestyle Coo

eda

Initiatives

Angie Wood Programs Director

OUR SERVICES Wherever you are on your journey, Forge is there. We empower by pairing you with a mentor to listen and support; provide educational resources such as health and wellness classes, free professional mental health counseling, and financial support through gas cards for transportation to medical appointments, grocery cards, and help with essential bills while you are in active treatment, so you can focus on healing - not keeping your lights on.

No Matter where you live in Alabama or Mississippi, Forge Provides:

Gas Cards

Grocery Cards

Hardship Fund

Mental Health Counseling

Wigs

Lifestyle Programming

Mastectomy Bra Fittings Survivor Tiarra Hooks

Forge Breast Cancer Survivor Center 1321 19th Street South, Birmingham, AL 35205 www.forgeon.org Alabama: 205-838-6159 | Mississippi: 601-207-4586