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    Seeing Pink

    Komen Houston president Betsy Kamin weighs in on controversy: Don't make localwomen pay for national organization's decision

    Caroline Gallay
    Feb 2, 2012 | 5:13 pm

    When the national organization Susan G. Komen for the Cure announced this week that it would cease funding to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screening programs nationwide, response was swift, and it was intense.

    Planned Parenthood supporters across the country took to the web to declare their disgust with Komen — and vowed to cease support of the organization altogether.

    The shocking move by what has historically been an apolitical organization (despite its Republican ties) was no less shocking to many local chapters, as Komen Houston board President Betsy Kamin can attest. Kamin, who is a partner at the law firm of Strasburger & Price and has served on Komen's board for seven years, tells CultureMap that Komen affiliates were given no forewarning that the national foundation was ending its longstanding relationship with Planned Parenthood.

    "We learned about it from the media just as everyone else did, and that was pretty shocking and disappointing," Kamin says, "Very un-Komen like."

    Also disappointing, she says, is the reactionary backlash local affiliates have felt over national's decision.

     

      "It's really a national decision that doesn't have any impact on Houston. The most disturbing thing is people suggesting that other people should boycott the Houston race or other races around the country, which would just be a tragedy for the women we serve." 

     Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast has never requested for Komen Houston to fund it locally, Kamin says, due in part to Houston's vast resources in the Texas Medical Center. (Unlike many more rural areas, Planned Parenthood is not the only resource here for free cancer screenings).

    And Komen Houston — which functions relatively autonomously, with its own fundraising, its own bylaws and its own grant-making decisions — keeps 75 percent of the money it raises within the seven Houston-area counties it serves. (Of the 25 percent that goes to nationals, Kamin says, as far more comes back due to Houston's expansive medical center.)

    "It's really a national decision that doesn't have any impact on Houston," she says. "The most disturbing thing is people suggesting that other people should boycott the Houston race or other races around the country, which would just be a tragedy for the women we serve."

    As for the alleged political impetus behind the move, Kamin says it's certainly not from the Nancy Brinker she knows.

    "We have always been studiously non-partisan. It's not at all like things have been done in the past, and I don't believe Nancy Brinker is a pawn of the right wing or anything of the sort. I've never seen any indication of that."

    Whether this adds fuel to the furor that Komen's sharp move to the right was precipitated by new addition Karen Handel, as has been widely speculated, Kamin declines to surmise.

    What does remain clear is this: Both organizations have done immense good at the local level in providing health care to women who are underserved and uninsured. Both depend on the support of donors and volunteers.

    And when two national organizations that purport to share the same mission — promoting women's health — publicly duke it out and condemn each other over the decision of a few high-ranking individuals, it's the women both organizations serve that suffer.

    So if you find yourself (in this young woman's opinion, understandably) disgusted by the national pink-washing wielded by Susan G. Komen national, don't buy that pink New Balance hoodie. But don't drop your Houston race registration, either.

    unspecified
    news/city-life

    Flood Relief News

    Houston company gives back with free cleanings for Hill County families

    Natalie Grigson
    Jul 15, 2025 | 4:34 pm
    Cotton Holdings restoration team
    Photo courtesy of Cotton Holdings
    Cotton Holdings Restoration Station team helping residents in Central Texas.

    Cotton Holdings, a Houston-based disaster relief company, has been on the ground daily in Central Texas since the July 4 floods, clearing debris and cleaning up spaces. The company has deployed two "Restoration Station" vans, fully equipped with cleaning teams and professional-grade supplies, to help people recover and preserve their belongings.

    For residents of Kerrville, Hunt, and Comfort, this service is being offered free of charge through July 19.

    Residents in these areas can schedule a free two-hour appointment to have family heirlooms, jewelry, collectibles, or other keepsakes and valuables that may have been damaged by the floods professionally cleaned and restored.

    The website notes that Cotton Holdings is currently only accepting "hard, nonporous items," and recommends throwing away soft belongings that were damaged in the floods. Some of the items they'll accept include:

    • Wood furniture
    • Sculptures
    • Mirrors
    • Jewelry
    • Dinnerware
    • Musical instruments
    • TVs
    • Gaming devices

     Cotton Holdings item cleaning Most items can be cleaned within 15 minutes, a press release says.Photo courtesy of Cotton Holdings

    Each home visit includes two hours of cleaning, plus a dedicated team member to offer emotional support, according to a press release.

    "This effort aims to preserve treasured memories and renew hope within the community during this challenging time," says the release.

    Aside from its work in Central Texas, Cotton Holdings has been at the forefront of disaster relief across the country since its founding in 1996. They've recently helped residents in the California wildfires and in Asheville, North Carolina, post-Hurricane Helene.

    natural disastercharityfree
    news/city-life

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