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Winner of the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund - March 25, 2008
Anne Rutters Acker Honored with $5,000 Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund Award
March 25, 2008

Spring Grove, Pennsylvania Resident Wins Cash Award To Support Program For Domestic Violence Survivors


(New York, NY, March 25, 2008) Spring Grove, Pennsylvania resident Anne Rutters Acker, 53, is one step closer to fulfilling her dream of creating a better tomorrow for her community. Anne was named this week’s winner of the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund, a weekly $5,000 cash award program from Avon Products, Inc. to support individuals in their work to empower women. Anne’s award will support The Safe Home – a program through the Hanover YWCA that provides services to victims of domestic violence. With the award money, Anne will be able to offer a new service for The Safe Home program and pay for security deposits for up to ten women and their children to secure permanent housing.

In a recent report by the U.S. Department of Justice, they estimate that on average, 960,000 incidents of violence occur in the home per year. According to a 1998 Commonwealth Fund survey, nearly one-third of American women report being physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives. It has also been determined that seventy five percent of intimate homicide occurs when a victim is trying to leave the relationship, or has already left, so it is crucial for women to secure permanent housing as a critical component of their “safety plan” before leaving their abusive situation. In many instances, women who seek transitional housing face shelters that are full or other barriers to securing safe accommodations. Those that do seek permanent housing often find that waiting lists are long, which can ultimately lead to further danger for themselves and their children.

Anne has been the director of the YWCA of Hanover Safe Home program for eleven years, since she returned to her home state of Pennsylvania from Massachusetts where she worked in an employment-training program. The Safe Home program was founded 26 years ago and currently provides an array of comprehensive services to victims of domestic violence, including a 24-hour hotline and crisis intervention, legal advocacy, a support group, child therapy and community education. With a staff of only four people, they have helped nearly 755 women in the last year alone who were being abused. Despite this success, through her years running Safe Home, Anne noticed a gap in the services they provide and wanted to do something to change that.

The main issue facing victims who seek permanent housing is that they can afford the monthly rent, but often do not have the capital for a down payment, usually consisting of first month’s rent and security. Anne was growing frustrated as she searched for public and private grants to help women in her program pay for a down payment, but came up with nothing. Anne has seen many victims return to their abusive partners for no other reason than financial security, and the cycle of violence keeps repeating. Anne knew she had to do something to raise funds to help these women secure safe and permanent housing.

Thanks to her Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund award, Anne will be able to pay for approximately ten security deposits for women who need a safe, affordable rental home for themselves and their children. Anne hopes that once a woman vacates the property, the deposit funded by the Hello Tomorrow Fund will be returned to Safe Home to be reinvested and continue the cycle of housing assistance for other families in need.

Anne’s winning application to the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund fell under the category of “Community Service.” Her proposal met the criteria to clearly present unique and achievable objectives to empower women or girls and ultimately improve society. It was selected from a pool of strong contenders by an expert panel of judges, including Suze Orman, America’s most recognized expert on personal finance. Another judge, Cynthia Rowley, noted, “Great program! This allows more women to leave their abusive relationships and take control of their lives.”

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