The Mary Kay FoundationSM recently awarded over $3 million in cancer research and domestic violence shelter grants around the country.
The Foundation was established in 1996 with the overarching purpose of eliminating cancers affecting women. In 2000, The Foundation expanded to include ending domestic violence as part of its mission.
Domestic Violence Shelters
A total of 100 domestic violence shelters across the country, including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, have been awarded $20,000 each, totaling $2 million. The Foundation is committed to funding the life-saving work of women’s shelters, and the annual shelter grant program has helped finance critical needs including emergency shelter, transitional housing, counseling and legal aid. All of these resources support women and children as they seek refuge and relief on their journey to an abuse-free life.
While a majority of domestic violence shelter grant recipients use the unrestricted funds for necessary operating expenses, others will complete repairs and facility renovations or add programs and resources based on the unique needs of their shelter and the clients they serve. Nearly 400,000 women and their families will receive domestic violence support services and free resources through the 100 agencies awarded.
The Foundation also recently donated $25,000 to Hope’s Door New Beginning Center, an organization dedicated to offering intervention and prevention services to individuals and families affected by intimate partner and family violence. The organization also provides education programs that enhance the community’s capacity to respond to victims.
Last year, Hope’s Door New Beginning Center’s shelters housed 265 women and children—but their locations are in need of major renovations. With Mary Kay’s help, Hope’s Door aims to complete the renovations and continue to provide shelter services, including a 24-hour hotline answered in English and Spanish, emergency housing for up to 90 days, counseling, case management, safety planning, and essentials of daily living.
Cancer Research
After reviewing more than 70 applications, The Foundation Research Review Committee awarded $100,000 grants to 11 cancer research institutions across the country, totaling $1.1 million. This year’s grant recipients include the following leading research institutions:
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine
- Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
- Georgetown University
- Michigan State University
- University of California, San Francisco
- University of Kansas Medical Center
- University of Notre Dame
- University of Utah
- UT Southwestern Medical Center
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Weill Cornell Medicine
The Foundation also recently donated $100,000 to Baylor Scott & White Dallas Foundation to help fund research conducted by Dr. Joyce O’Shaughnessy, breast oncologist with TEXAS Oncology and the Celebrating Women Chair in breast cancer research at Baylor University Medical Center. Dr. O’Shaughnessy’s deep portfolio of research includes the study of triggers that may cause heightened sensitivity of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), a high-risk breast cancer with few effective options for patients that usually affects younger women, African American women and women with a BRCA1 genetic mutation.
Over the course of more than two decades, The Mary Kay Foundation has awarded more than $80 million to women’s shelters and domestic violence service providers, as well as cancer research programs and related causes throughout the United States.
