(3BL Media) Dallas, TX - September 24, 2012 - In recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, The Mary Kay Foundation^SM awarded $3 million in grants to 150 domestic violence shelters in all 50 states. Each shelter received a $20,000 grant to maintain critical services and programs for women and children who are survivors of domestic violence. Through its annual shelter grant program, The Foundation has now provided a total of $31 million to domestic violence organizations since 2000.

“The Mary Kay Foundation^SM is proud to work with local shelters that are supporting and helping to improve the lives of thousands of women and children across the country,” said Anne Crews, Mary Kay Inc.’s Vice President of Government Relations and board member for The Mary Kay Foundation^SM. “The grants are a signature program for us. The Foundation grants represent just one of the ways in which we are helping to raise awareness of and provide support for domestic violence prevention. Our mission is to enrich the lives of women around the world, and one of the ways we are doing this is through our commitment to breaking the cycle of domestic violence.”

While many grant recipients use the funds for basic operating expenses and to hire much needed personnel, some recipients focus on a specific need that may have not been met without the grant from The Mary Kay Foundation^SM. A shelter in Kentucky plans to use its grant to strengthen its clients’ family management skills with farm-to-table classes, seeds and plants and gardening tools. A shelter in Oregon plans to use its grant to upgrade its 100-year-old kitchen and a shelter in New Hampshire will use the money to replace its dilapidated roof.

For a list of The Mary Kay Foundation^SM 2012 Shelter Grant Recipients, click here.

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 $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 Foundation^SM, visit marykayfoundation.org or call 1-877-MKCARES (652-2737).

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