Following the tremendous success of the inaugural year of the
Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund, which attracted nearly 4,000 applicants in the U.S. alone, Avon Products, Inc. announced the extension of the weekly $5,000 cash award program into a second year. Initially launched in March 2007 as a one-year initiative in celebration of International Women’s Day, the
Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund has flourished in over a dozen countries as an effective vehicle to “empower women and change our world.” The first winners in year two of the U.S.
Hello Tomorrow Fund will be announced in April.
“We are gratified that the
Hello Tomorrow Fund has proven to be such a valuable and popular initiative that brings yet another facet to Avon’s profound commitment to empowering women,” said Andrea Jung, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Avon Products, Inc. “Given the resources, women can impact their lives, families and communities in meaningful ways…women can change our world. It is in this spirit that we created the
Hello Tomorrow Fund, and I am delighted that the program has been such a success, touching lives across the country and around the world.”
Research has shown that an investment in women is an investment in the community, and for over 120 years Avon has provided economic opportunity for women worldwide, often in places and at times when employment options were limited. The
Hello Tomorrow Fund applies the same concept to the realm of community service by directly supporting individuals in their worthy ideas or programs that empower women at the grassroots level. The
Hello Tomorrow Fund is now another proven tool to help drive the advancement of women.
In the U.S. and over a dozen countries worldwide, the first year’s recipients of
Hello Tomorrow Fund awards have already shown that given the resources, they can, and do, positively impact the lives of countless women and their communities. The Fund’s first U.S. recipient, Joyce Ford of South Carolina, utilized the award to support The Naomi Project, a transitional housing facility for victims of domestic violence and their school-aged children. She credits the Fund for helping “The Naomi Project to keep its doors open.” South Dakota resident Leona Clubbs, the U.S. winner for August 21, 2007, built a program to help equip low-income women – many of them Native Americans escaping lives of violence – with the necessary tools to become home owners. In early 2008, Leona will welcome more than a dozen women through the front door of their first home and safe haven.
Leona and Joyce are just two of the dozens of worthy recipients of U.S. awards in the Fund’s first year. Among the other notable examples of the work of award recipients in empowering women and changing their communities are: programs to teach underprivileged women valuable parenting, computer, financial and job skills; free reconstructive dental work, housing, job-skills training and other critical services for the victims of domestic violence; therapeutic art training and expression for autistic teens; and leadership and mentoring programs for inner-city and displaced teens and girls. Other dynamic winning initiatives helped women integrate into society post-incarceration; aided in the recovery of sexual violence victims; and helped fledgling women entrepreneurs build their businesses and their futures.
About the U.S. Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund
The U.S.
Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund will continue to award $5,000 each week, with the second year continuing through April 2009. Winners are deserving individuals who have submitted a compelling application with unique and achievable initiatives within the U.S. to help realize a program, project or idea to empower women or girls and ultimately improve society. Women and men are eligible for the U.S.
Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund, and winners are selected by an expert panel of judges.
Applications and guidelines are available at
www.avon.com/hellotomorrowfund. Application submission and selection of winners is organized in a quarterly cycle. One winner will be publicly announced every Tuesday through the
Hello Tomorrow website through April 7, 2009, and profiles of the winners are featured on the website to share their inspiring ideas. To further support women’s empowerment, the website also offers links to resources and organizations in the areas of business development, community service, and awareness and outreach, as well as general women’s issues. This service provides information to all persons interested in these issues, regardless of participation in the
Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund.
About the Judges
Applications are thoughtfully and carefully reviewed by an expert panel comprised of notable public figures, philanthropic leaders and heads of business. Notable new judges are slated to join the
Hello Tomorrow Fund in late March, 2008. For the initial year, the judges included:
- Jillian Dempsey: influential makeup artist, beauty industry icon and entrepreneur
- Anne T. Dowling: President of the Institute for Cultural Enterprise (ICE), a nonprofit agency; past President of the Texaco Foundation and Director of Corporate Contributions for Altria
- Carol M. Kurzig: Executive Director of the Avon Foundation
- Joan LaRovere, M.D.: Associate Director of the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at The Royal Brompton Hospital in London and co-founder and Vice President of the Virtue Foundation
- Joan Libby-Hawk: human rights advocate and Public Affairs Specialist, United Nations Development Fund for Women, UNIFEM
- Suze Orman: personal finance expert, award-winning television host, author, magazine and online columnist, writer/producer, and motivational speaker. Suze’s newest book, Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny, was released February 27, 2007.
- Maria Peninger: Vice President of Representative Development for Avon Products, Inc. and strong advocate for women’s empowerment
- Cynthia Rowley: award-winning fashion designer, author and entrepreneur
- Joseph Salim, D.D.M.: committed humanitarian, co-founder and Executive Director of the Virtue Foundation
- Lynn M. Stekas: nationally-recognized leader in corporate community involvement, philanthropy and volunteerism, and former President of the MONY Foundation
To Apply for the Hello Tomorrow Fund
The fastest way to apply or learn more is at
www.avon.com/hellotomorrowfund. For those without internet access, a friend or colleague can download a printable PDF file of the application on the website, or a request for paper copies of application materials can be sent to: Hello Tomorrow Fund, c/o Changing Our World, 220 East 42nd Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10017.
About Avon Products, Inc. and the Avon Foundation
Avon,
the company for women, is a leading global beauty company, with almost $10 billion in annual revenue. As the world's largest direct seller, Avon markets to women in more than 100 countries through 5.4 million independent Avon Sales Representatives. Avon's product line includes beauty products, fashion jewelry and apparel, and features such well-recognized brand names as
Avon Color, Anew, Skin-So-Soft, Advance Techniques, Avon Naturals, and
Mark. Avon is also a leader in corporate responsibility and philanthropy. In addition to Avon's heritage of women’s empowerment, the Avon Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity, is the largest corporate foundation for women, with more than $580 million raised worldwide for breast cancer, domestic violence and emergency disaster relief. Learn more about Avon, its products and programs at
www.avoncompany.com.
