MARYS House Receives $20,000 Grant From The Mary Kay Foundation

In advance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, The Mary Kay Foundation has awarded $3 million in grants to 150 domestic violence shelters in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. MARYS House in Easley, SC received one of the $20,000 unrestricted grants to maintain critical services and programs for individuals who are survivors of domestic abuse.

MARYS House provides emergency shelter, services, and spiritual guidance to victims of domestic violence.  Since opening the emergency shelter in 2008, MARYS House has provided a safe and loving environment for over 400 women and children.  MARYS House shelters women and children in family suites, keeping them together.  The need for the shelter is more critical than ever as South Carolina is ranked number one in the nation for deaths of women killed by men.  Just two years ago, South Carolina was ranked seventh.  The funds received from The Mary Kay Foundation will provide shelter operating expenses as well as counseling services which will allow clients to begin the emotional healing needed in order to return to an independent life, free from abuse.   

“As the only faith based nonprofit shelter in South Carolina, the need for our services is greater than it ever has been before.  It is becoming more and more challenging to assure that we have the needed funds to provide the services so desperately needed by our clients.” said Lisa Cope, Executive Director, MARYS House.  “Our staff, volunteers and clients are so thankful for this grant from the Mary Kay Foundation.  We’ve provided a safe haven for women and their children who have fled abusive relationships for the past 5 years and this grant will go a long way in helping us serve the growing needs of upstate South Carolina. ”

For nearly 20 years The Mary Kay Foundation 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 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. “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 MARYS House

MARYS House is a faith-based nonprofit organization. We provide emergency shelter and services to women and their children caught up in the trauma of domestic violence. We also work with youth to change thinking and behavior in our mission to break the cycle of violence.  Serving God by serving others in the Upstate of SC, MARYS House demonstrates Christ’s love as we lead our clients to closer relationships with God.

About The Mary Kay Foundation
The Mary Kay Foundation 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, please visit www.marykayfoundation.org or call 1-877-MKCARES (652-2737).