Susan G. Komen St. Louis and Susan G. Komen Mid-Missouri have joined forces to make a bigger impact in the local fight against breast cancer and will operate as one entity: Susan G. Komen Missouri.The new, consolidated organization will also expand its reach to serve five additional counties not previously served by Komen. Komen Missouri will serve 31 counties in Missouri and seven counties in southwestern Illinois.Komen Missouri will continue to fund breast cancer screening, breast health education and patient navigation and support services to local women and men who are most at risk and most in need. The consolidated organization will combine staff and volunteer leadership, grant-making relationships and fundraising capacities to strengthen its operations, with the overall goal of maximizing the resources and support available for the entire, now larger, service area.Helen Chesnut, executive director of Komen St. Louis, has been named executive director of Komen Missouri.“Our mission drives all we do,” said Chesnut. “We are continuing to put our mission and the people we serve first. As Komen Missouri, we now have greater potential to strengthen our presence and impact in the local fight against breast cancer. We will maximize grant funding to local breast health programs to help even more women and men across Missouri and southwestern Illinois access the best resources to find breast cancer early and then beat the disease.”Renee Hall, previously board president for Komen St. Louis, will serve as president of Komen Missouri’s board of directors.Komen Missouri will operate from two offices, one in greater St. Louis, based in Olivette, and one in mid-Missouri, based in Columbia.Each local Race for the Cure will continue. The 2016 Greater St. Louis Race is scheduled for Saturday, June 11, in downtown St. Louis. The Mid-Missouri race will take place in Columbia in fall 2016.Komen Missouri’s service area includes Adair, Audrain, Boone, Callaway, Camden, Chariton, Cole, Cooper, Franklin, Gasconade, Howard, Jefferson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, Maries, Miller, Moniteau, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Osage, Perry, Randolph, St. Charles, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, St. Louis City, St. Louis, Warren and Washington counties in Missouri; and Bond, Calhoun, Clinton, Jersey, Madison, Monroe and St. Clair counties in Illinois.New counties now covered by the expanded Komen Missouri service area are Gasconade and Monroe in Missouri and Bond, Calhoun and Jersey in Illinois.For more information, please visit www.komenmissouri.org or call Komen Missouri’s greater St. Louis office at 314-569-3900 or Mid-Missouri office at 573-445-1905.Susan G. Komen