Avon Announces First Recipient of New National Cash Award Program for Local Heroes to Empower Women

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Joyce G. Ford is now one step closer to fulfilling her dream of creating a better tomorrow in this country, starting at the grassroots level in her community of Florence, South Carolina. The tireless non-profit worker has been named the first winner of the new Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund, a weekly $5,000 cash award from Avon Products, Inc. to support individuals in their work to empower women. Joyce will apply her award to help female victims of domestic violence, an issue that touches the entire nation, through her work with The Naomi Project, a long-term transitional home that offers the benefits of educational, financial, and emotional support to help residents reach self-reliance, self-actualization, and self-sufficiency.

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, one in four women in this country will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. It is the vision of The Naomi Project that such incidents can be curtailed in the Florence, SC area through the services the program offers. The Naomi Project equips the women in the program and their school-aged children - who would likely otherwise have no safe haven - with the skills and abilities needed to reside and thrive in an environment free from violence and abuse. "For 17 years I have been a volunteer for domestic and sexual assault agencies around the country," stated Ford. "I have experienced firsthand what a person can do if given the right life tools."

Joyce plans to use half of the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund cash award to expand The Naomi Project's current resources and support the counselors who coach the residents on life skills, parenting, and financial planning. The other half of the award will be used for much-needed repairs to the five bedroom structure's wiring and plumbing.

Joyce's winning application to the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund fell under the category of "business development," one of three areas the Fund supports, to expand the services and resources of an existing program. Joyce's proposal met the Fund's criteria to clearly present unique and achievable objectives to empower women or girls and ultimately improve society. It was selected from a pool of strong contenders by an expert panel of judges, including Suze Orman, America's most recognized expert on personal finance. Of Joyce's proposal, Orman noted: "As I read this application, I felt it was written with truths, not just words. It totally touched my heart."

The Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund will announce and award $5,000 each week through April 2008 to a deserving U.S. individual who has submitted a compelling application to help realize a program, project or idea to empower women in one of three areas: business development, community service, or awareness and outreach. As the very first winner, Joyce was one of more than 700 applicants from across the U.S. who applied for an Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund in the first of four quarterly application cycles.

"The Hello Tomorrow Fund is the latest realization of Avon's profound commitment to empowering women around the world," said Andrea Jung, Chairman and CEO of Avon Products, Inc., which created the Fund. "Given the resources, women can impact their lives, families and communities in meaningful ways. Women can change our world. It is in this spirit that we have created the Hello Tomorrow Fund, and I am especially gratified that the Hello Tomorrow Fund is also launching in various forms in 18 countries around the globe. Avon understands women, and we also understand the power of the individual to effect significant change."

About the US Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund

The Hello Tomorrow Fund will provide one $5,000 award per week through April 2008 to a deserving individual in the US selected from the pool of applicants by an expert panel of judges. Women and men are eligible to apply, and the winning programs must present unique and achievable initiatives to empower women or girls anywhere in the country and ultimately improve society in one of three areas:

-- Business Development: A for-profit business that directly empowers
women through its mission, product or service, or through the means of
doing business.
-- Community Service: A non-profit project or program that helps women of
any age realize their full potential or overcome obstacles.
-- Awareness & Outreach: Educate others about an issue that affects women
to inspire and empower other women and have a positive impact on the
issue.

Hello Tomorrow Fund applications will be accepted through December 19, 2007 and winners will be announced each week through April 2008. Application submission and selection of winners are organized in a quarterly cycle. One winner will be publicly announced every Tuesday, and winners' profiles will be featured on the website to further share their inspiring ideas. To further support women's empowerment, the website also offers links to resources and organizations in the areas of the awards - business development, community service and awareness and outreach - as well as general women's issues. This service provides information to all persons interested in these issues regardless of participation in the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund. The website also provides links to Hello Tomorrow Fund programs worldwide.

The fastest way to apply or learn more is at www.avon.com/hellotomorrowfund. For those without internet access, a friend or colleague can download a printable PDF file of the application on the website. Hard copies of the application may be requested by writing to: Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund, c/o Changing Our World, 220 East 42nd Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10017.

About the Judges

Applications are thoughtfully and carefully reviewed by an expert panel comprised of notable public figures, philanthropic leaders and heads of business, including:

-- Jillian Dempsey: influential makeup artist, beauty industry icon and
entrepreneur
-- Anne T. Dowling: President of the Institute for Cultural Enterprise
(ICE), a nonprofit agency; past President of the Texaco Foundation and
Director of Corporate Contributions for Altria
-- Carol M. Kurzig: Executive Director of the Avon Foundation
-- Joan LaRovere, M.D.: Associate Director of the Pediatric Cardiac
Intensive Care Unit at The Royal Brompton Hospital in London and co-
founder and Vice President of the Virtue Foundation
-- Suze Orman: personal finance expert, Emmy Award-winning television
host, author, magazine and online columnist, writer/producer, and
motivational speaker. Suze's new book, Women & Money: Owning the Power
to Control Your Destiny, was just released February 27.
-- Maria Peninger: Vice President of Representative Development for Avon
Products, Inc. and strong advocate for women's empowerment
-- Cynthia Rowley: award-winning fashion designer, author and entrepreneur
-- Joseph Salim, D.D.M.: tireless humanitarian, co-founder and Executive
Director of the Virtue Foundation
-- Lynn M. Stekas: nationally-recognized leader in corporate community
involvement, philanthropy and volunteerism, and former President of the
MONY Foundation

About Avon Products, Inc.

Avon, the company for women, is a leading global beauty company, with over $8 billion in annual revenue. As the world's largest direct seller, Avon markets to women in well over 100 countries through over five million independent Avon Sales Representatives. Avon's product line includes beauty products, fashion jewelry and apparel, and features such well-recognized brand names as Avon Color, Anew, Skin-So-Soft, Avon Solutions, Advance Techniques, Avon Naturals, Mark, and Avon Wellness. Avon is also a leader in corporate responsibility and philanthropy. In addition to a heritage of women's empowerment, Avon and the Avon Foundation have robust programs worldwide to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer, domestic violence and emergency disaster relief. Learn more about Avon, its products and programs at www.avoncompany.com.


Source: Avon Products, Inc.

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