Avon gives grant to domestic violence shelter

MANILA, Philippines - During an event to commemorate Avon’s 125th anniversary, Avon chairman and CEO Andrea Jung and actor Patrick Dempsey awarded a $60,000 Avon Foundation for Women grant to Canoga Park, CA-based Haven Hills to support its services for domestic violence victims and their families in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles.

The grant is part of the $1 million Avon Global Believe Fund that will fund a pioneering global effort to support women’s domestic violence shelters and agencies in 16 cities around the world. Jung and award-winning actress and Avon Global Ambassador Reese Witherspoon announced the Global Believe Fund during a January event in Atlanta, part of Avon’s 16-city global “Believe” tour to celebrate the company’s heritage and belief in its mission to empower women. 

The Avon Foundation for Women’s Speak Out Against Domestic Violence program supports domestic violence awareness, education and prevention programs, as well as direct services for victims and their families. Through the end of 2010 in the United States, Avon Foundation has donated more than $23 million to support awareness, education, direct service, and prevention programs aimed at reducing domestic violence.

Avon’s new $1 million commitment is in addition to the company’s previously announced financial donations to other major partners in global efforts to stop violence against women including: the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women, Vital Voices and the US State Department to establish the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Women, and Cornell University Law School for the creation of the Avon Global Center for Women and Justice.

“As the company for women, Avon feels an obligation and responsibility to play a leadership role in helping to improve the lives of women around the world, and we truly believe we can make a difference,” said CEO Andrea Jung. “Avon is the largest engine of economic opportunity for women on earth, serving more than six million Avon representatives in over 100 countries. The Avon Foundation for Women is also the largest corporate-affiliated philanthropy focused on issues that matter most to women, and Avon global philanthropy has donated more than $800 million to improve women’s health and safety around the world.”

Announcing the Global Believe Fund in Atlanta, Avon Global Ambassador Reese Witherspoon commented: “I am so proud to be working with Avon, a company that is in the forefront of women’s issues around the world. Approximately one in every three women globally is likely to experience some type of violence in her lifetime. It’s a sad fact, and I believe we all have an obligation to address this vitally important issue, one of the most prevalent yet under funded problems in the world.”