For more information contact:
Melissa L. Pearce
Domestic Violence Project, Inc.
330-445-2001 melissap@dvpi.org
For immediate release
SM
Canton, OH (Oct. 3, 2013) – In advance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, The Mary
Kay Foundation SM has awarded $3 million in grants to 150 domestic violence shelters in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Domestic Violence Project, Inc. (DVPI) in Canton, OH received one of the $20,000 unrestricted grants to maintain critical services and programs for individuals who are survivors of domestic abuse.
Established in 1978, DVPI is a private, non-profit organization that provides a continuum of care to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking (collectively, “domestic violence”) including two emergency shelters, a 24-hour hotline, transitional housing, crisis and mental health counseling, drug and alcohol treatment, art therapy, legal advocacy, childcare, case management and community prevention education programs. DVPI is dedicated to serving victims of domestic violence and their children through trauma-informed, confidential, comprehensive services, delivered with respect and cultural sensitivity. DVPI is certified by OhioMHAS and accredited by CARF.
Annually, DVPI serves about 2,000 individuals directly, receives over 4,000 hotline calls, reaches thousands of students through prevention education and professionals through training programs.
Historically, an average of 30% of the homicides in Stark County is domestic violence related. In the past four years, the annual census in DVPI’s shelters nearly doubled to about 400.
The Mary Kay Foundation grant funds will used to purchase a van. With so many more residents, there is increased need for transportation to various appointments, court and access to services/community resources. Also, the incidence of stalking has increased for many of the survivors served, making the use of public transportation an unsafe option.

“DVPI is grateful to the Mary Kay Foundation for its generous support in helping our staff to best serve those who need our assistance,” said Melissa Pearce, executive director/CEO. “For 35 years, DVPI has provided a secure refuge where healing can begin and hope can be restored. This grant, and the continued support of our local Mary Kay volunteers, will go a long way in helping us to meet growing needs in Stark County.”
“With it being Mary Kay’s 50 th year, we’re doubly excited,” said Connie Ryder, Mary Kay senior sales director. “Mary Kay is all about enriching women’s lives. We like the fact that we can pay it forward and make a difference locally in the lives of the families served by DVPI.”
Local Mary Kay consultants are active volunteers with DVPI, supporting fundraising activities, providing spa events for shelter residents, donating welcome bags for new residents, serving as Trustees and adopting DVPI families at Christmas.
For nearly 20 years The Mary Kay Foundation SM has supported the prevention and elimination of domestic violence, an epidemic that touches one in every four women in her lifetime. Through the
Foundation’s annual shelter grant program, $34 million has been granted to domestic violence organizations since 2000.
“The Mary Kay Foundation SM is proud to support local shelters that are on the front lines of helping the thousands of women and children who seek shelter and support from abuse,” said Anne Crews, Vice
President of Government Relations for Mary Kay Inc. and board member for The Mary Kay
Foundation SM . “The shelter grants are a signature program for The Mary Kay Foundation and represent just one of the ways we are committed to breaking the cycle of domestic violence.”
Click here for a full list of 2013 grant recipients or visit marykayfoundation.org
for additional information.
About DVPI:
Domestic Violence Project, Inc. is committed to the mission of providing leadership initiatives that contribute to ending physical, sexual and emotional violence. Now operating in its 35 th year of service,
DVPI acts as the community’s response to violence and abuse serving victims of domestic violence by providing voluntary, confidential services including: a 24-hour hotline, emergency shelters in Canton and Massillon, transitional housing, legal advocacy in Canton and Massillon courts, counseling to victims of domestic violence and their children, drug and alcohol recovery treatment and prevention and educational services to the community.
Staff has developed a client-centered continuum of care in a trauma-informed environment. These services are essential, not only for the immediate safety of victims and their children, but also in supporting them in their journey of breaking the cycle of family violence. Other shelter services and amenities include childcare, transportation, a food pantry, a clothing room, a computer lab, an enclosed playground, tutoring, off-site pet boarding and a private courtyard. The focus of DVPI’s
Renew Counseling and Recovery Center therapists is offering special expertise in the dynamic of intimate partner violence and treating the root cause of trauma.

Trainings for professionals include intervention practices, danger assessments, medical advocacy, reproductive coercion, domestic violence 101: the dynamics of intimate partner violence, domestic violence impact on the workplace, trauma-informed care, non-fatal strangulation and healthy relationships/teen dating violence prevention. These are extended to social service agencies, medical personnel, educators, law enforcement, legal, courthouse staff, faith-based and others.
About The Mary Kay Foundation SM
The Mary Kay Foundation SM 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 $34 million to shelters and programs addressing domestic violence prevention and more than $20 million to cancer researchers and related causes throughout the United States. To learn more about The Mary Kay Foundation SM , please visit www.marykayfoundation.org
or call 1-877-MKCARES (652-2737).
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