The Mary Kay Foundation Awards Center For Community Solutions A $20,000 Grant

Nov. 6, 2012 - PRLog -- Center for Community Solutions, a non-profit agency that offers a complete range of sexual assault, domestic violence and elder abuse prevention and intervention services, received a $20,000 grant from The Mary Kay FoundationSM in observation of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Each year, The Mary Kay Foundation awards $20,000 grants to more than 150 domestic violence shelters across the country for a total of $3 million.

Center for Community Solutions will use the grant to support trauma-informed counseling techniques as part of its Dreamcatchers and Cocoon programs, which provide therapeutic services to families in domestic violence shelters and/or receiving crisis intervention services. These much-needed funds ensure that these families have access to professional, specialized support to help them stabilize from the trauma of recent violence and begin the long journey to recovery and healing.

According to Verna Griffin-Tabor, executive director of Center for Community Solutions, the funding from The Mary Kay Foundation will play a crucial role in helping to sustain and expand the agency’s capacity to provide critical therapeutic counseling during times of crisis. “We are so grateful for the continuing support from The Mary Kay Foundation, which touches families from all regions of San Diego County,” she explains. “Due to their continuing generosity, we can facilitate recovery and healing for approximately 150 children and teens along with 70 parents who are living in one of our domestic violence shelters or transitional housing apartments as well as those who have been referred through one of our advocacy, counseling, prevention, hotline or legal programs. Thanks to The Mary Kay Foundation, CCS can intervene quickly and effectively to offer vital therapy and counseling services to children and families when they need it most.”

“The Mary Kay Foundation is committed to breaking the cycle of domestic violence,” said Anne Crews, Mary Kay Inc. vice president of Government Relations and board member for The Mary Kay Foundation.  “Through our grants, we honor and support shelters across the country that are having a profound impact on women and children in their communities. Since 2000, we have granted $31 million to help domestic violence shelters meet their critical needs and support their ongoing community efforts.”

About The Mary Kay FoundationSM

The Mary Kay FoundationSM was created in 1996, and its mission is two-fold: to fund research of cancers affecting women and to help prevent domestic violence while raising awareness of the issue. Since the Foundation’s inception, it has awarded nearly $31 million to shelters and programs addressing domestic violence prevention and more than $18 million to cancer researchers and related causes throughout the United States. To learn more about The Mary Kay FoundationSM, visit marykayfoundation.org or call 1-877-MKCARES (652-2737).

About Center for Community Solutions

Founded in 1969, Center for Community Solutions, assists more than 20,000 women, children and families affected by sexual assault, domestic violence and elder abuse each year. The Center operates the only Rape Crisis Center in the City of San Diego along with a 24-hour bilingual crisis helpline as well as hospital and court accompaniment services for rape survivors. CCS provides two 24-hour emergency shelter and transitional housing programs for victims of domestic violence and their children.