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Winner of the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund - October 14, 2008
Mimi Hannor Honored with $5,000 Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund Award
October 14, 2008

Omaha, Nebraska Resident Wins Cash Award To Support Career Workshop Program For Women In Local Shelter


(New York, NY, October 14, 2008) - Omaha, Nebraska resident Tran “Mimi” Hannor, 40, is one step closer to fulfilling her dream of creating a better tomorrow for her community. Mimi 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 Nebraska 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. Mimi will use her award to support the tri-annual Career Workshop that she helped create for residents of the Lydia House, a program for displaced women who are trying to escape lives of domestic violence, addiction, prostitution, or homelessness.

For many of the residents, a permanent job and the stability it brings is often the first step in getting their lives back on track and yet, is often the largest obstacle that the women face. Lydia House recognizes that proper training and understanding the resources available for an ever-changing job market, as well as best approaches for seeking employment, are part of the building blocks to helping their residents get on their feet and rebuild their lives.

Lydia House is a residential program through the Open Door Mission that seeks to help women build a new life for themselves through a step-by-step recovery process. As part of the final step before graduating, the women must complete a vigorous Career Workshop, consisting of five rotating stations: 1) Mock Interviews - a career counselor gives tips for interviewing and sets up real life scenarios; 2) Resume Building - each woman comes away with a completed resume with professional guidance from an experienced Lydia House volunteer; 3) Education - residents are given information on GED classes as well as various colleges and universities in the area; 4) Career Boutique – the residents are given an interview outfit, typically donated by stores in the community; 5) The Salon – a hair stylist and Avon Representative conducts makeovers on the women. Each resident leaves with a bag of Avon products to keep, including the Women’s Empowerment Bracelet as Mimi says, “the Bracelet becomes a physical reminder of all of their hard work and what Lydia House stands for.”

Mimi works full-time as a product sales specialist but her most meaningful work is through Open Door Mission where she has been an active volunteer since moving from California in 2006. She has instilled the same sense of community work in her two young sons, who she brings to the Open Door Mission once a month to serve meals to the homeless men and women in the area. When Mimi launched the Career Workshop for the residents of Lydia House last April, they had seven volunteers to man the five stations. Now, a little more than a year later, the program has grown with an outpouring of community support. Lydia House just completed their third workshop with 20 volunteers and a dozen local stores in the area who donated products, including Evette Nicksich, the local Avon Representative who suggested that Mimi apply for the Hello Tomorrow Fund award.

With support of the Hello Tomorrow Fund award, Mimi will help to pay for CD’s for the resumes, supplies such as ink, paper, pens, and folders, leather portfolios for each resident to hold their resumes, clothing for the Career Boutique in varying sizes, as well a laptop and printer specifically for the program. Mimi will be able to continue to help women build a new life for themselves by arming them with the important skills they need to obtain a job, and a new outlook on life.

Mimi’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. “This is a wonderful cause,” praised award-winning fashion designer and judge, Cynthia Rowley of Mimi’s proposal. “These victimized women need all the support we can give.”

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