The Mary Kay FoundationSM Awards YWCA Clark County $20,000 Grant for Domestic Violence Prevention and Awareness

Vancouver, WA (Oct 15, 2012)— YWCA Clark County’s SafeChoice Domestic Violence Shelter serving Clark County, received a $20,000 grant from The Mary Kay FoundationSM. In observation of Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, The Mary Kay FoundationSM awards $20,000 grants to more than 150 domestic violence shelters across the country for a total of $3 million.

The SafeChoice Shelter will use the grant to support one family-style bedroom for an entire year, ensuring that the room remains open for families escaping domestic violence. Providing this room, and the services associated with it, will help change the lives of at least six adults and 6-12 children throughout the twelve months. These individuals will have access to parenting support, peer support, and legal support during their stay in shelter, and for many of them, the support they receive will be the stepping stone needed to rebuild their lives.

“The Mary Kay FoundationSM is committed to breaking the cycle of domestic violence.” said Anne Crews, Mary Kay Inc. Vice President of Government Relations and board member for The Mary Kay FoundationSM. “Through our grants, we honor and support shelters across the country that are having a profound impact for women and children in their communities. Since 2000, we have granted $31 million to help domestic violence shelters meet their critical needs and support their ongoing community efforts.”

About The Mary Kay FoundationSM

The Mary Kay FoundationSM 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 nearly $31 million to shelters and programs addressing domestic violence prevention and more than $18 million to cancer researchers and related causes throughout the United States. To learn more about The Mary Kay FoundationSM, visit marykayfoundation.org or call 1-877-MKCARES (652-2737).

Survivors of Sexual Assault Receive Support from Community Foundation

On Wednesday, June 27th, Anne Digenis and Kristen Turek from the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington presented a $10,000 grant to support the YWCA Clark County’s Sexual Assault Program. The funds will support approximately 245 hours of life-saving advocacy to approximately 30 individuals directly affected by sexual assault, and their families.

YWCA’s Sexual Assault Program is the only program in our community offering free, 24-hour advocacy for individuals affected by sexual assault. Last year, 1,124 community members found support through the program, but this number only represents those who reported the crime. According to the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault, approximately 84% of rapes are not reported. This means that many more individuals live in fear in our community.

Sexual assault is a traumatizing and violent crime with severe consequences for the victim, the family and the community. Some of these consequences include post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, depression, sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancy, sleep disorders, eating disorders and suicide. With proper support, victims are able to successfully navigate through the medical exams, police reports and court proceedings so that they are not re-victimized or suffer secondary trauma.

YWCA Clark County is especially grateful to the Community Foundation for recognizing and responding to this need. Because of this generous grant, YWCA Clark County can continue providing medical advocacy, child & family advocacy, legal advocacy, and peer to peer support to those affected by sexual assault.

For more information about supporting YWCA, please contact Shawna Burkholder, Director of Development and Communications, at sburkholder@ywcaclarkcounty.org

Kaiser permanente supports healthy families

With ywca clark county’s SafeChoice Program, survivors of domestic violence have opportunities to change their lives through involvement in peer support groups. Attending these support groups, however, can be challenging for parents who have little or no access to child care. For these families, the lack of safe, affordable care can be their biggest barrier to success. Thanks to Kaiser Permanent this is no longer the case.

On August 23, 2011 ywca clark county received nearly $10,000 from Kaiser Permanente Gives – Volunteer Grant Program to provide childcare for parents attending the SafeChoice Domestic Violence Program support groups. Having access to free child care allows parents to attend weekly support groups which help them work through the damaging effects of verbal, emotional, sexual, or physical abuse; it is a major step towards healing.

Kaiser Permanente is committed to civic engagement and thus supports its employees who donate time and talent to charitable organizations like ywca clark county. The Volunteer Grant Program focuses on funding basic needs, such as child care, which provide a short-term bridge to addressing an immediate crisis. Without affordable, quality child care, parents are unable to heal and rebuild in order to help their families thrive.

ywca is thrilled to partner with Kaiser Permanente as both organizations work to improve the health of Clark County.

Y’s Care Scholarships Made Possible with Rotary Foundation Grant

Homeless and low-income children will receive scholarships through ywca clark county’s Y’s Care Program thanks to a grant of $10,000 on September 14th from the Vancouver Rotary Foundation. This grant was one of 9 awarded to local non-profits. It will allow for children currently supported by the Preschool Assistance for Needy Families Project to continue their education and will award scholarships for at least 12 additional children.

Y’s Care provides quality preschool education to children from homeless, transitioning, or low-income circumstances. Children ages 2 1/2 to 5 are offered a safe environment, nutritious meals, physical fitness, and need-specific care to prepare them emotionally and intellectually for kindergarten. The Preschool Assistance for Needy Families Project is a scholarship fund created in January of this year with the intention of providing tuition assistance to homeless and low income children attending Y’s Care. The results of this project have proved to be successful. 12 children have already received scholarships, and the retention rate in the Y’s Care classroom has increased 40% since the program began.

About Vancouver Rotary Foundation

The Vancouver Rotary Foundation exists to foster, develop, promote and encourage the health, education and general welfare of the residents of Vancouver and Clark County. The Foundation has granted over $2.75 million to the Vancouver community with emphasis on youth programs in the past 37 years (1972-2010).

Kaiser Permanente Foundation Supports Survivors of Domestic Violence

On August 23, 2011 ywca clark county received nearly $10,000 from the Kaiser Permanente Gives – Volunteer Grant Program to help provide childcare for parents attending the SafeChoice Domestic Violence Program support groups. Having access to free child care allows parents to attend weekly drop-in support groups which help them work through the damaging effects of experiencing verbal, emotional, sexual, or physical abuse; it is a major step towards healing.

Kaiser Permanente is committed to civic engagement and thus supports their employees who donate time and talent to charitable organizations like ywca clark county. The Volunteer Grant Program focuses on funding basic needs, such as child care, which provide a short-term bridge to addressing an immediate crisis. Without affordable, quality child care, parents are unable to do the things they need to do in order to help their families thrive.

About SafeChoice
ywca clark county’s SafeChoice and SafeChoice LGBTQ Programs commit to advocating for, educating, and supporting those affected by domestic violence. The Program offers a 24-hour crisis hotline, legal advocacy, support groups, and the only domestic violence shelter in Southwest Washington.

About ywca clark county
For over 95 years, ywca clark county has been serving its mission of empowering women, eliminating racism, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for everyone in Southwest Washington. Through seven unique programs, ywca clark county serves over 11,000 individuals each year who are victims of domestic violence, homelessness, sexual assault, child abuse and neglect, and oppression, as well as youth in foster care and incarcerated women.

About Kaiser Permanente Gives – Volunteer Grant Program Kaiser Permanente Northwest is proud of our staff who volunteer with charitable organizations in communities where they live, work, and raise their families. To demonstrate our support, Kaiser Permanente established the Kaiser Permanente Gives-Volunteer Grant Program. This program donates money to qualified charitable organizations Kaiser Permanente employees and clinicians donate their time to. For more information about local Kaiser Permanente Grant Programs please visit their website at www.kp.org/communitybenefit/nw.

Donor Spotlight: Schwab Foundation

In January of this year, the Dwight and Anna Schwab Charitable Foundation generously granted $15,000 to create the Preschool Assistance for Needy Families fund. The fund offers need-based assistance to children experiencing homelessness or living in low income situations so that they may attend the Y’s Care Children’s Program at ywca clark county.

Y’s Care provides quality preschool education to children from homeless, transitioning, or low-income circumstances. Children 2½ to 5 years old are involved in a preschool program that provides a safe environment, nutritious meals and snacks, physical fitness, and need-specific care for up to 20 participants at any given time. For homeless and transitioning families specifically, Y’s care extends beyond basic child education by providing community resources and referrals for parents who are striving to regain self-sufficiency.

To date, 12 children have received Schwab scholarships and the impact has been immeasurable. Children who were once experiencing crisis, chaos, or transition are now experiencing stability in their daily life. They are learning how to regulate emotions, deal with frustration in a positive manner, and build community with other children and adults. With help from the Schwab Foundation, these children are able to continue their early childhood education to become developmentally, socially, and emotionally prepared for kindergarten and life.

“If I did not receive a scholarship, I don’t know if I would be able to afford to enroll my daughter in Y’s Care. I would have to settle on another childcare option – perhaps one where I would worry about the safety of my child each day. But I have been truly blessed; receiving a scholarship to enroll my daughter in Y’s Care has been one of the best things that have happened in a long time.”
- Mother of a child in Y’s Care

“With the help of the scholarships, we have been able to keep consistency in our children’s lives, even through being homeless at one point. With help of the scholarships we were able to keep employment and had the resources to find housing. It gave us piece of mind to know that our kids were somewhere safe.”
- Father of two children in Y’ Care

The Dwight an Anna Schwab Charitable Foundation supports the legacy of Dwight and Anna Schwab – that of improving the economic conditions and quality of life within our community. ywca clark county is honored to receive funding from the foundation and we cannot thank them enough for helping us change lives.

partner spotlight: Kohl’s Kares

The Classic Wines Auction is the ywca clark county’s largest fundraiser and requires hundreds of volunteers to help with setup and various assignments throughout the evening. One way the ywca recruits volunteers is through the Kohl’s Cares – Associates in Action program.

Associates in Action is Kohl’s community service and grant making program. The ywca submitted a volunteer request application for the Classic Wines Auction, and was provided five Clark County Kohl’s employees to setup the day of the auction. In addition to having five incredibly hardworking volunteers, the ywca also received a $500 grant to be used for any of our programs that serve children.

Since 2001, Kohl’s Cares – Associates in Action has contributed over 828,000 volunteer hours and $21.3 million in donations throughout the United States. The ywca is so grateful for organizations like Kohl’s that recognize that every dollar counts and every hand helps.

ywca clark county recieves part of $3 million nationwide grant from the mary kay foundation to combat domestic violence in clark county

The ywca clark county SafeChoice domestic violence shelter has been chosen to receive a $20,000 grant from The Mary Kay Foundation as part of the organization’s annual #3 million national domestic violence grant program. The grant will be used to support a part-time advocate to manage the Children’s Advocacy Program within the SafeChoice domestic violence shelter.

The Children’s Advocacy Program supports children as individuals while living at the shelter with their parent. The advocate will help supervise the children while their parents attend support groups; implement activities that are educational, fun and therapeutic; plan for celebrations, such as birthdays and holidays, while children are separated from extended family; and provide advocacy to both children and parents during their shelter stay.

Domestic Violence Outlook

According to the second “Mary Kay Truth About Abuse” national survey conducted in March 2010, domestic violence shelters indicate the economic downturn has increased demand for services. Shelters also report, the ability to raise funds and provide services will be hampered into 2011. Due to the economy, the survey also revealed:

• 88% of domestic violence shelters expect their overall situation will worsen, or remain the same in 2011.
• 77% of domestic violence shelters report an increase in women seeking assistance from abuse.
• 51% of shelters nationwide note the abuse is more violent now than before the economic downturn.

“In light of the economic downturn and alarming increases in domestic violence, The Mary Kay Foundation’s mission is more critical than ever before. The SafeChoice domestic violence shelter has helped so many people and their families in the Vancouver area. We know they will use these funds to benefit even more domestic violence survivors and their children and help end domestic violence,” said Jennifer Cook, The Mary Kay Foundation board member.

About the SafeChoice Program
The goal of the SafeChoice Program is to provide a safe, supportive, non-violent, non-judgmental shelter, including advocacy-based counseling and referral services, for women and children affected by domestic violence. The program offers women the information and services they need to evaluate their needs and make decisions for them and their families.

About The Mary Kay Foundation
The Mary Kay Foundation 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 nearly $25 million to shelters and programs addressing domestic violence prevention and more than $14 million to cancer researchers and related causes throughout the United States. To learn more about The Mary Kay Foundation, log on to www.marykayfoundation.org or call 1-877-MKCARES (652-2737).