Going The Distance To Fight Breast Cancer: One Representative’s Story

Three, two, 39. For Texas Representative Stace Hunt, these numbers add up to a significant connection to Avon and the company’s Breast Cancer Crusade. Hunt is a third-generation Avon Representative. Her mom and grandmother both survived breast cancer. And last year, 39 year-old Hunt chose to participate in AVON 39 The Walk to End Breast Cancer.

Hunt lives in Beaumont, Texas, with her husband and daughter. She’s been teaching for more than a decade and starting selling Avon products two years ago to supplement her income. Hunt remembers her grandmother was “quite the Avon Lady.”

“She sold Avon for about 10 years. I grew up with Avon in the house, looking at brochures and samples. She had a Mrs. Albee statue [Avon’s first Representative] from making President’s club,” recalls Hunt. When her grandmother, Barbara Bellomy “retired” from Avon, she (Bellomy) still wanted to use the products, especially Imari. So Hunt’s mom became a Representative (and an e-Representative) and Hunt later followed in her footsteps.

Three generations of Hunt women.

Hunt has a handful of customers and loves ordering Avon products, especially the clothes and ANEW Vitale. As she grows her business, it seems like she could have a fourth-generation Representative in the making. “I have a teenage daughter, Olivia, who’s 13, and she loves the mark. products. She highlights what she wants in the magalog. Olivia also helps with the business, putting labels on the brochures. She’s continuing the legacy.”

Stace Hunt and Avon CEO Sheri McCoy in New York, 2014.

During the 2014 Avon Walk event in New York, Olivia was with her mom in spirit, continually texting words of encouragement and messages about how proud she was of her. When Hunt got tired along the route, she’d remind herself why she was walking, and the challenge somehow became easier. Hunt’s grandmother, who passed away in December 2013, was a breast cancer survivor who had a single mastectomy. Her mom, also a survivor, had a double mastectomy, and Hunt herself had a lumpectomy. She explained that after her grandmother died, “I challenged my family to live a life that’s worthy of the life she gave.” Participating in AVON 39 was one way to accomplish that. “My most emotional night was after the first day — crossing the finish line and not being able to call Granny and share that moment with her.”

But Hunt was grateful for the bonding that took place along the route, as participants shared their connections to breast cancer. “When we were walking over the Brooklyn Bridge, I thought, ‘I can’t believe I am here doing this.’ I really liked hearing everyone’s stories along the way.”

Hunt also had the opportunity to meet one special AVON walker, Avon CEO Sheri McCoy, an honorary captain. “When your leadership comes along side you like that, it makes a difference.”

The Avon Breast Cancer Crusade has placed Avon at the forefront of the fight against breast cancer. Today, Avon is the leading corporate supporter of the cause globally. Since Avon launched the Crusade in 1992, Avon breast cancer programs in over 50 countries have contributed more than $800 million to conduct research and advance access to quality care for all, regardless of a person’s ability to pay. Avon raises funds for the Crusade through the sale of Avon “Pink Ribbon” products and through fundraising events in over 50 countries annually, including the U.S. AVON 39 The Walk to End Breast Cancer series and the Avon Walk Around the World for Breast Cancer events.