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Winner of the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund - September 23, 2008
Melissa Goodman Honored with $5,000 Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund Award
September 23, 2008

Birmingham, Alabama Resident Wins Cash Award To Provide Esteem-Building Dance Camp To Low Income Girls


(New York, NY, September 23, 2008) - Birmingham, Alabama resident Melissa Goodman, 28, is one step closer to fulfilling her dream of creating a better tomorrow for her community. Melissa 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 first recipient of a Hello Tomorrow Fund award in Alabama 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. Melissa will use her award to offer 75 deserving girls from low-income families the opportunity to attend a week-long dance camp through the Birmingham School of Dance.

Dance and movement is not only physically beneficial, but can also have an immense impact on a child’s development and self-confidence by teaching coordination and goal setting, and building memory skills in an enjoyable, social environment. But dance lessons in the Birmingham area can be extremely expensive as most studios typically charge for monthly lessons, performances, pictures and costumes. For low-income families with no money to spare for even basic needs, dance classes for children are next to impossible.

Melissa has been a dancer for most of her life. She credits this passion with giving her a strong sense of self, and a creative outlet all through her childhood and adult life. Melissa recalls the great financial strain her parents faced when it came time to pay for dance costumes and recitals for her and both of her sisters, and vowed to never put that kind of burden on anyone else. She started teaching dance ten years ago, and officially named the studio The Birmingham School of Dance eight years later. The mission of the Birmingham School of Dance is to offer a high quality and professional dance program to anyone in the community who is interested, regardless of their financial status. Melissa charges everyone a small fee to cover the expense of a teacher, as well as overhead, but those are the only costs to students. She also welcomes, at no charge, children from low-income families who cannot afford to pay.

Melissa is passionate about the benefits of dance and finds it abhorrent when a young girl cannot take classes because of her family’s financial status. The confidence a student gains when mastering a step or routine carries over into every aspect of their life. “It hurts my heart to see children of any income denied opportunities they deserve,” Melissa says. She sees the transformation in a girl’s self esteem when she dances for the first time and this is what fuels her. Melissa has yearned to be able to help additional girls in the community, as the demand has continued to grow, but unfortunately did not have the funding. This is where the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund will help.

With support of the Hello Tomorrow Fund award, Melissa will be able to offer a one-week dance camp to 75 girls ages 2-18, where they will have the opportunity to learn basic tap, jazz, ballet, hip-hop and flamenco. Funds will cover a space for the classes, along with a fee for the teachers. The week will close with a performance for families and friends, where many girls will perform on stage for the first time in their lives. Remaining funds will enable additional students to participate in classes throughout the year at no cost. Melissa sees dance as the starting point to a successful and bright future for the incredible young girls in her community and now will have the opportunity to touch more lives for years to come.

Melissa’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, Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York, and experts in business and grantmaking. “Through music, through dance, and through song, I have always believed, is the key to let the heart’s door swing open,” praised Suze Orman of Melissa’s proposal. “When one feels, one moves. And when one moves, change happens.”

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