Joyce Fay Washington Ivery invites residents to come to enjoy an afternoon of tea and make a difference in people’s lives.

For the seventh year, the Edna B. and Joyce Fay Washington Breast Cancer Foundation Inc. will host its annual “Hats and Gloves with Tea on the Mississippi” at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Natchez Grand Hotel.

Those who come to enjoy the afternoon are encouraged to wear their finest hats and gloves to the afternoon tea, which will feature entertainment, a silent auction and door prizes.

Prizes will be given to the prettiest hats and gloves, Ivery said.

“But don’t let a hat stop you from coming,” she said. “Hats and gloves are optional for those who want help with this important cause.”

The event costs $25 to attend.

Proceeds will go to provide free mammograms and sonograms to medically underinsured or underserved women, Ivery said.

“One-hundred percent of the proceeds remain here in Natchez,” Ivery said.

“Our theme this year is ‘Poetry in Motion,’” Ivery said. “We will have poetry readings, music and we will celebrate the cty’s tricentennial.”

In honor of Natchez’s 300th birthday, Thelma Newsome, dressed in a period costume, will tell the story of 19th-century local historical figure Sarah Mazique.

Since the foundation started the Journey to Save a Life program in 2011, 70 mammograms and 20 sonograms have been provided free of charge to local women who cannot pay for such services.

“We don’t want a woman to say, ‘I didn’t get a mammogram because I couldn’t afford it,’” Ivery said.

The women who receive the free services are referred by the health clinic on the Natchez campus of Alcorn State University or by the Jefferson Comprehensive Health Center. Ivery doesn’t know the name of the women who receive the services until she receives a bill in the mail.

A 27-year breast cancer survivor, Ivery started the foundation with her mother’s help. Founded in 1993 in New Orleans, the foundation became a component of the Greater New Orleans Foundation in 1996.

Forced out of her New Orleans home after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Ivery moved to Natchez and focused her efforts on saving lives in the Miss-Lou.

Thanks to the support of local health care providers Ivery has been able to offer free mammograms and sonograms for the last four years when she started the Journey to Save a Life program.

“Without the support of Merit Health Natchez and Radiology Associates of Natchez we really would not be able to do the program.”

The foundation participated in the Tricentennial Wellness Clinic on the Natchez campuses of Alcorn State University and Copiah-Lincoln Community Colleges.

During the two-week clinic, Ivery taught local men and women about the importance of breast health and how to perform breast self-examinations. She also informed those who attended the clinics about the free services the foundation offers.

“By the eighth day, I said the word ‘free’ so much, I said, ‘Please Lord don’t let me run out of money,’” Ivery said.

That is why participation in this year’s event is so important, Ivery said. The more people who attend the tea, the more people the foundation can serve, she said

“I continue to work hard, continue to press forward,” Ivery said. “But I need the community’s help.”