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Winner of the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund - October 7, 2008
Melissa Goodman Honored with $5,000 Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund Award
October 7, 2008

Florissant, Missouri Resident Wins Cash Award To Support Childhood Obesity Prevention Program For Low-Income Girls


(New York, NY, October 7, 2008) - Florissant, Missouri resident Vivian Fay Dudley, 46, is one step closer to fulfilling her dream of creating a better tomorrow for her community. Vivian 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 Missouri 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. Vivian will use her award to support The Powder Room, an obesity prevention and enrichment program for low-income African American, low-income teenage girls, ages 12 – 18, in the St. Louis City area.

The New York Times stated in an article published on May 28, 2008, that although childhood obesity rates have hit a plateau, data based on two recent surveys of children ages 2 to 19, showed about 16 percent of those surveyed were obese. Obesity in children is often more prevalent in low-income areas as financial restraints limit access to nutritious food and regular exercise. Vivian has made it her life’s mission to teach young girls to truly value themselves first, so that everything else falls into place, including good physical health.

Vivian has had her share of life’s obstacles as she is a survivor of domestic violence and drug addiction. In an effort to help others like her, Vivian founded the West End Mount Caramel Community Outreach Service six years ago with the mission to improve services and community needs through mentoring and other enrichment activities. What started out as a one-woman organization with a part time volunteer and zero budget has grown into a 42-person operation, serving over 3,000 individuals, with an annual budget of two million dollars to support various community programs.

Initially launched in January of 2007 through the West End Mount Caramel Community Outreach Service, The Powder Room seeks to reduce childhood obesity through education and enrich the lives of low-income girls through mentoring. Since the launch of the program, they have made strides in increasing daily activity of the members as a means to maintain a healthy body weight, but Vivian has yearned to improve services by adding professional instructors for both exercise and body image.

Vivian will use her Hello Tomorrow Fund award toward a professional aerobics instructor to conduct vigorous exercise classes with the 50 girls enrolled in The Powder Room. Additionally, the funds will be used for The Girls Circle curriculum – a series of lessons that encourage the development of strength, courage, confidence, honesty, and communication skills. The Powder Room meets twice a week, after school for eight weeks, and girls from previous cycles are encouraged to mentor the new members. Each session begins with 20 minutes of aerobics, followed by 20 minutes of health and nutrition education, then an hour workshop of various topics such as sewing, dance and etiquette and finishes with lessons that focus on psychological, sociological and environmental issues. Thanks to the Hello Tomorrow Fund, Vivian will be able to continue to empower girls in her community to create better lives for themselves through self confidence, healthy diet and regular exercise – all tools needed to become well adjusted, healthy adults.

Vivian’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. “Not only will the participants learn skills to beat obesity, they in turn will be in a position to teach others, including the next generation of children,” notes Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York, of Vivian’s proposal. “Breaking the cycle of obesity is key.”

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