Mary Kay Foundation awards Waypoint $20,000 grant in honor of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Waypoint Madge Phillips Center Shelter, a local homeless and domestic violence shelter serving the Cedar Rapids Metro area, received a $20,000 grant from The Mary Kay Foundation. In observation of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, The Mary Kay Foundation awards $20,000 grants to more than 150 domestic violence shelters across the country for a total of $3 million.

Waypoint will use the grant to provide critical support for its Madge Phillips Center Shelter, which provides shelter and stabilizing resources for domestic violence victims and their families. The Waypoint Madge Phillips Center Shelter offers basic needs, information, strategic referrals, one-on-one support, and skill development so women can achieve and maintain self-sufficiency and family stability. Waypoint provides support services to help victims and their families deal with the trauma of domestic violence. All of the services are free and confidential. Waypoint believes in the worth and dignity of all individuals and their right to live a life free from violence.

“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 for 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 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 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 Foundation, visit marykayfoundation.org or call 1-877-MKCARES (652-2737).

About Waypoint

Waypoint Services for Women, Children and Families is a non-profit agency that strengthens and empowers individuals who are homeless, living in poverty, or victims of domestic or sexual violence; and helps children gain the essential skills vital to reaching their potential. Waypoint also provides child care to over 600 children daily. Waypoint is located in downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with rural offices in Anamosa and Vinton. Waypoint programs include: Madge Phillips Center Shelter, Daytime Resource Program, Domestic Violence Program, Sexual Assault Intervention Program, Uptown Kids Child Development Center, RiverRidge Kids Child Development Center, ParkRidge Kids Child Development Center, and the School Age Kids Program. For more information about Waypoint, visit www.waypointservices.org.