As October moves us into the autumn weather, it also marks the beginning of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Being the largest domestic violence service provider in our service area, this month is very important to the YWCA, as we are committed to breaking the cycle of family violence. October also marks the beginning of the annual Allstate Foundation Purple Purse fundraiser. Started in 2011 as a part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, The Allstate Foundation created the Purple Purse as an interactive campaign centered on sharing information and resources to make it easier to talk about the sensitive subject of domestic violence. YWCA Central Alabama is very excited to be one of 30 YWCA’s across the country that will receive 10 purses each to pass along and raise money for their local association. The Purple Purse campaign is an encouraging way to ask the public to take action and effort to make our communities better and safer places to live.
The Purple Purse was created as a symbol for a woman’s financial domain and purple is the official color for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Each time a purse is passed and checked in at www.PurplePurse.com, YWCA Central Alabama will earn a $5 donation from The Allstate Foundation. If YWCA Central Alabama is able to pass their purses a total of 1,000 times, The Allstate Foundation will double the donation and reward them with a $10,000 grant. Last year, purple purses were passed over 37,000 times nationwide, totaling to up to $250,000 donated to the local YWCA’s from The Allstate Foundation. Purses are given to Allstate employees and agents, local YWCA’s, celebrities, government officials and media to pass between friends and family.
The goal of the Purple Purse campaign is to encourage more open discussions about domestic and financial abuse. Having friends and family pass around and register the purse is a quick and easy way for people to discuss. Despite the prevalent statistics, domestic violence is rarely accounted for. In fact, 1 in 4 women will be affected by domestic violence in their lifetime. Just in the U.S., this means that domestic violence happens more than 145 times each hour. Even more, three women lose their lives every day at the hands of an intimate partner. The epidemic of domestic violence affects more women than breast cancer, lung cancer and ovarian cancer combined. The YWCA and The Allstate Foundation understand the dire need for individuals to talk about their own experiences as well as the causes and effects of domestic violence. It’s statistics like these that will hopefully encourage all who participate to pass their purses as much as possible. Shedding more light and support on domestic violence is absolutely a step in the right direction.
We are passing one of the YWCA Central Alabama’s purses to you now! Please use the code: 01007 at www.PurplePurse.com to register this purse.
If you would like to support the YWCA’s domestic violence services or one of our many others, please click here.
