THE MARY KAY FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES $3 MILLION IN GRANTS TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS

The Mary Kay Foundation^SM announces $3 million in grants to domestic violence shelters during Mary Kay Inc’s 50th Anniversary year.  Read The Mary Kay Foundation’s press release:

DALLAS (Sept. 19, 2013) – In advance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, The Mary Kay Foundation^SM is awarding $3 million in grants to 150 domestic violence shelters in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Each shelter will receive a $20,000 unrestricted grant to maintain critical services and programs for individuals who are survivors of domestic abuse.

While more than half of the grant recipients use the funds for basic operating expenses, others are working to hire much needed personnel, complete repairs and facility renovations or add additional programs and resources based on the needs of their shelter.

“The Mary Kay Foundation^SM is proud to support local shelters that are on the front lines of helping the thousands of women and children who seek shelter and support from abuse,” said Anne Crews, Vice President of Government Relations for Mary Kay Inc. and board member for The Mary Kay Foundation^SM. “The Foundation grants are a signature program for us and represent just one of the ways we are committed to breaking the cycle of domestic violence.”

Earlier this year Mary Kay Inc. released the 2013 Mary Kay Truth About Abuse Survey which took an in-depth look at domestic violence through the perspective of more than 800 executive directors at women’s shelters across the country. The survey revealed that the cycle of violence is continuing in Generation Y as young women who were in shelters as children are now seeking protection from domestic violence situations as adults.

Some of the grants in the 2013 funding cycle are addressing these findings by working to end the cycle of abuse from one generation to the next.

S.H.A.R.E. House in Douglasville, Ga. is expanding their youth program to address behavioral and trauma issues seen in male children exposed to domestic violence. A Safe Place in Oakland, Ca. will use their grant from the Mary Kay Foundation^SM to enhance a public education campaign targeting the trend of domestic violence and abuse among youngsters in Alameda County. The Communication Action Program in Lancaster, Pa. and Safe Journey in Union City, Pa. are working to expand their youth services with the addition of child advocates to help children cope with the effects of domestic violence. Safe Journey is also upgrading the children’s playroom to give their young clients a place to heal.

Additionally, the survey reported that many women are staying in shelters for longer periods of time because of limited access to resources, preventing other women from receiving needed assistance. As fewer women are able to seek shelter, more women are staying in or going back to violent and dangerous situations.

“Many of the shelters had to turn away women and children, and this is why it is so important for organizations and companies to supply critical funds to women’s shelters,” said Crews. “Shelters need funding to not only house women and children who are in need, but also offer programs that help prevent abuse.”

For nearly 20 years The Mary Kay Foundation^SM has supported the prevention and elimination of domestic violence, an epidemic that touches one in every four women in her lifetime. Through the Foundation’s annual shelter grant program, $34 million has been granted to domestic violence organizations since 2000. Each year, grants are awarded to at least one domestic violence shelter in every state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Remaining grants are distributed based on state population.

Click here for a full list of 2013 grant recipients or visit marykayfoundation.org for additional information.

About The Mary Kay Foundation^SM
The Mary Kay Foundation^SM was created in 1996, and its mission is two-fold: to fund research of cancers affecting women and to help prevent domestic violence while raising awareness of the issue.  Since the Foundation’s inception, it has awarded $34 million to shelters and programs addressing domestic violence prevention and more than $20 million to cancer researchers and related causes throughout the United States. To learn more about The Mary Kay Foundation^SM, please visit www.marykayfoundation.org or call 1-877-MKCARES (652-2737).