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Winner of the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund - June 17, 2008
Christine Brehm Honored with $5,000 Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund Award
June 17, 2008

Westmoreland, New Hampshire Resident Wins Cash Award To Provide Money Management Skills To Women, Post-Incarceration


(New York, NY, June 17, 2008) Westmoreland, New Hampshire resident Christine Brehm, 35, is one step closer to fulfilling her dream of creating a better tomorrow for her community. Christine 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. She is the second Hello Tomorrow Fund recipient in New Hampshire, and among the first winners to be selected by a newly expanded panel of judges that now includes Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York and actress Phylicia Rashad, in addition to the existing panel of judges that includes Suze Orman, acclaimed personal finance expert. Christine will use her award to support a money management program at Mary’s Place – a transitional housing facility for women, post-incarceration.

Women face many challenges in attempting to re-enter society, post-incarceration. Many often lack the skills and resources necessary for successful re-integration to become contributing members of their communities. These women, who are frequently victims of abuse, under-educated, and living in poverty, find it challenging to acquire the skills needed to break out of the criminal justice cycle. Mary’s Place provides a stable and safe home, which, for many, is the only loving environment they have ever known. The program strives to create a joyful and empowering environment in which residents can develop the skills they need to become healthy, self-sufficient women and eventually move out on their own.

Over the past decade, Christine has worked with incarcerated women in various capacities. By facilitating support groups for incarcerated women through Community Improvement Associates, a non-profit organization that provides therapeutic treatment and preventative measures for mental health and substance abuse issues, she observed that, often times, the same women returned back into the system. After much research, Christine discovered that the state offered few resources or support to facilitate real change. The doors to Mary’s Place opened in January 2006, after two years of coordination between the state criminal justice system and the community. To date, the program has served 35 women from ages 17 – 75.

“We work with the whole woman in a way that empowers them to realize their individual potential,” explains Christine. In addition to providing a home that teaches basic life skills, Christine believes that money management is essential to long-term success. The counselors at Mary’s Place work with each woman to develop a budget and savings plan to teach them the tools to take control of their financial well-being.

In partnership with a local investment company, Christine will use her Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund award to provide up to 20 residents with $200 to invest. These funds will be used as a means to teach essential money management skills and work to secure future financial means. Once the women transition back into the community, the funds are theirs to keep. The only requirement is that they contribute $25 towards the next resident’s investment, a way to pay-it-forward and help them experience the empowerment that comes from giving back to the community. Thanks to her Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund award, Christine will improve the lives of women and break the cycle of reentering prison, so they can lead productive and positive lives.

Christine’s winning application to the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund met the criteria of clearly presenting 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 personal finance expert, Suze Orman, actress Phylicia Rashad and Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York. Anne Dowling, President of the Institute for Cultural Enterprise and judge, commends the program as “an innovative, thoughtful approach to helping women who have been in prison. Based on solid research, this plan will give women the skills needed to build new lives.”

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