AKRON, Ohio — Lavar Jacobs is the founder of Not Just October, a non-profit devoted to breast cancer awareness, education and research—not just in October but all year long.
This weekend, Jacobs reached another milestone. As a crowd counted down, “5, 4, 3, 2,1,” a ribbon cutting in front of the Kim Jacobs Breast Cancer Resource Center took place and Jacobs fulfilled a promise.
“Now we have a location where women who are currently batting can come and get wigs, home care supplies. They can get massages, facials—pretty much anything they may need,” Jacobs said. “I’m trying to cover every single base for women who are battling breast cancer. And that’s really the most important thing to me. My mom passed away from breast cancer, that’s the namesake of the Kim Jacobs Breast Cancer Resource Center."
The Kim Jacobs Breast Cancer Resource Center is the seventh business to open on Kenmore Boulevard in Akron during the pandemic.
“We are especially excited Lavar is the fifth Black owned business to open here during the pandemic,” said Tina Boyes, executive director of Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance.
Jacobs said he lost his mother to breast cancer in 2009.
“She was always there for me. She always defended me. She always believed in me and loved me,” Jacobs said.
Now, he is on a mission to make a difference in the lives of other women fighting breast cancer just like his mom.
“It’s my goal to make sure that any woman that’s going through it doesn’t have to go through the things I saw her go through, I watched her struggle,” he said.
The Kim Jacobs Breast Cancer Resource Center is located at 946 Kenmore Blvd. in Akron.
