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ATLANTA, Sept. 1, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Friday, October 2, employees at thousands of companies nationwide will celebrate Lee National Denim Day by wearing jeans to work in exchange for a $5 donation to support the American Cancer Society's breast cancer programs and services. In the 20 years since Lee Jeans employees started Lee Denim Day to benefit women with breast cancer, the initiative has become one of the largest single-day fundraisers for breast cancer – raising more than $93 million to date.

In 2012, Lee selected the American Cancer Society as the beneficiary of the annual campaign. The following year, Lee joined other corporate funders to help the Society reach women in areas with higher burdens of breast cancer and limited access to breast cancer screening through the Society's Community Health Advocates implementing Nationwide Grants for Empowerment and Equity (CHANGE) Grant Program.

To date, Lee National Denim Day has provided nearly $2 million to support the CHANGE grant program, which has awarded nearly 30 grants to community partners to increase cancer screening rates in underserved communities. Grant recipients have reached underserved women through over 109,000 education and navigation interactions and have provided nearly  40,000 breast cancer screenings at no or low cost.

"We are grateful to Lee for helping the American Cancer Society provide critical programs and services that can help women reduce their risk of getting breast cancer through education and find cancer early through screening when it's easiest to treat," says Rosemarie "Rosie" Henson, senior vice president, Prevention and Early Detection for the American Cancer Society. "Funds raised through Lee National Denim Day benefit the Society's community-based programs, including life-saving screenings; help provide a free place to stay when breast cancer patients and their caregivers have to travel for treatment; and support life-saving national research grants."

Lee National Denim Day has funded 11 national cancer research and training projects totaling more than $2.4 million. Additionally, Lee National Denim Day funds have supported the American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge, where out-of-town cancer patients stay free of charge while undergoing treatment.

"Lee® Jeans is proud to celebrate 20 years of raising awareness and funds to aid in the fight against breast cancer. Lee created Lee National Denim Day® in 1996 and has helped raise more than $93 million dollars since that day," says, Kim Yates, vice president of marketing for Lee®. "Our employees and donors are honored to be able to help fund the important work that the American Cancer Society is carrying out. From funding groundbreaking cancer research to providing free information and support to those touched by breast cancer, every dollar raised helps bring us closer to our collective goal – an end to breast cancer."

For more information on Lee National Denim Day, click here.

About Lee Jeans
Lee® Jeans is a division of VF Corporation. (NYSE: VFC). Headquartered in Merriam, Kan., Lee manufactures and markets brand denim, casual pants, shirts, fleece and knit apparel. A brand committed to the community, Lee Jeans founded Lee National Denim Day®, one of the largest single-day fundraisers for breast cancer. For more information about Lee, visit www.lee.com.

About the American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is a global grassroots force of 2.5 million volunteers saving lives and fighting for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. As the largest voluntary health organization, the Society's efforts have contributed to a 20 percent decline in cancer death rates in the U.S. since 1991, and a 50 percent drop in smoking rates. Thanks in part to our progress nearly 14 million Americans who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will celebrate more birthdays this year. We're determined to finish the fight against cancer. We're finding cures as the nation's largest private, not-for-profit investor in cancer research, ensuring people facing cancer have the help they need and continuing the fight for access to quality health care, lifesaving screenings, clean air, and more. For more information, to get help, or to join the fight, call us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.

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SOURCE American Cancer Society