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Winner of the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund - August 26, 2008
Erin Pitre Honored with $5,000 Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund Award
August 26, 2008

Williamsburg, Virginia Resident Wins Cash Award To Provide Childcare To A Victim Of Domestic Violence To Obtain Employment


(New York, NY, August 26, 2008) - Williamsburg, Virginia resident Erin Pitre, 35, is one step closer to fulfilling her dream of creating a better tomorrow for her community. Erin 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 recipient of a Hello Tomorrow Fund award in Virginia since the program launched in 2007, and was selected by a newly expanded panel of judges that now includes Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York and actress Phylicia Rashad. Erin will use her award to provide childcare for up to one year to a member of the Workforce Development Program through Avalon: A Center for Women and Children, which assists women affected by domestic violence or sexual assault.

Money Magazine stated in 2006 that the average household income for residents of Williamsburg, Virginia is $42,351, but rising housing and childcare costs make it nearly impossible for women who are just starting out in the workforce to support a family on that salary. What’s more, the average cost of childcare is $130 to $200 per week for an infant. Avalon has empowered survivors of family violence and sexual assault in Williamsburg, since 1979, and Erin, previously the Director of Resource Development at Avalon, helped to spearhead the Workforce Development Program. The program works in partnership with local companies such as the Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center, to provide clients with job training that can enhance full time employment opportunities. Expert trainers provide Avalon clients with on-the-job education that increases customer service skills and commitment to professional development, which leads to career advancement.

In addition to job training, Avalon also provides support services that include therapy, life skills training, daycare and transportation. Due to the overwhelming demand for these services, there are currently over 80 low income families, including single mothers, on the waitlist for childcare services in Greater Williamsburg. That means that women are missing their opportunity to support their families and become contributing and independent members of society while they care for their children.

It is the ultimate goal of every employee at Avalon to one day, “be out of a job,” but with more and more women and children entering the Avalon emergency shelter each day, it doesn’t appear that goal will be met any time soon. The Workforce Development program can ultimately help these women break the cycle of poverty and become independent from their hostile and unsafe living conditions, but they need to assure that their children are looked after in order to commit to the program. Data collected from Avalon’s emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence or sexual assault, show that unless childcare and transportation costs are deferred, a woman cannot obtain employment.

Erin will use the Hello Tomorrow Fund award to directly address this need and help the victim of domestic violence enter into the Workforce Development program by providing childcare for up to one year, allowing the woman and her family to rebuild lives of independence and safety. The completion of this Workforce program redefines a victim’s future by instilling a greater sense of self worth and creates opportunities for career development and longevity, resulting in the ability to successfully sustain family needs. Thanks to the Hello Tomorrow Fund, Erin will help to put a family on the path to a healthy and prosperous life.

Erin’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. “Providing childcare to victims of domestic violence so they may obtain job training is an essential and brilliant use of this award,” noted judge Lynn Stekas of Erin’s proposal. “This program will now have all the elements to succeed.”

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