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Winner of the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund - November 4, 2008
Katie Feifer Honored with $5,000 Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund Award
November 4, 2008

San Diego, California Resident Wins Cash Award To Support National Summit On Anti-Sexual Violence Movement


(New York, NY, November 4, 2008) - San Diego, California resident Katie Feifer, 51, is one step closer to fulfilling her dream of creating a better tomorrow for women throughout the country. Katie 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 seventh recipient of a Hello Tomorrow Fund award in California 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. Katie will use her award to fund a two-day summit of leaders of the anti-sexual violence movement under CounterQuo, a newly created initiative that she helps lead.

It is estimated that one out of five women will be raped or sexually assaulted in her lifetime. In the U.S., the last 30 years have seen reform of criminal laws addressing perpetrators of sexual violence and improved policies to support those who have suffered sexual assault and rape. Nonetheless, many feel that public attitudes still too often place blame on the victims.

A rape survivor herself, Katie feels much more still needs to be done for women who are victims of sexual violence. “I am one of the very few rape survivors for whom the system worked perfectly,” Katie says. For this reason, since 2003, she has dedicated an average of 30 hours a week helping to ensure that more victims get the kind of support that she did and are able “to live full, rich lives post-rape.” Katie is a constant advocate for survivors of sexual violence. In addition to her work on CounterQuo, she works as a volunteer SART (Sexual Assault Response Team) advocate for San Diego’s Center for Community Solutions. She also spends her time raising awareness and educating the public, by sharing her experience and perspective to police cadets during their training, and by speaking at conferences and to community groups through The Voices and Faces Project, a national documentary initiative created to bring the stories of rape survivors to the attention of the public.

The two-day summit will bring together 35 thought and action leaders from academia, media, legal, and social service organizations connected to the anti-sexual violence movement. The goal of the conference is to reassess the priorities and efforts of the movement while developing legal and communications strategies that will raise awareness of how sexual violence impacts victims, families, and communities -- ultimately changing laws and how culture perceives and responds to sexual violence against women. Two organizations are sponsoring the CounterQuo summit – The Voices and Faces Project, of which Katie is the Research Director, and the Victim Rights Law Center. And now, with the help of the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund, Katie has faith that the impact of her efforts can be multiplied, helping to result in a higher number of convictions for perpetrators and a more compassionate public response to victims of sexual violence.

After successful completion of the CounterQuo conference and help from the Hello Tomorrow Fund, Katie will have the opportunity to engage more people nationwide in support of victims of sexual assault and women everywhere.

Katie’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. “Katie is a very dedicated advocate seeking new and innovative approaches to addressing a major challenge and need,” commented judge Carol Kurzig on Katie’s proposal.

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