THE FAMILY CRISIS CENTER, INC. TO PARTICIPATE IN NATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO RAISE FUNDS FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SURVIVORS
One in four American women experiences domestic violence in her lifetime regardless of socio-economic background or ethnicity – more than breast, ovarian and lung cancer combined. While most people think only of cuts and bruises when they think of domestic violence, 99 percent of all domestic violence cases involve financial abuse. Financial abuse can include abusers preventing victims from accessing money, ruining their credit, harassing them at work so they lose their jobs and more. Financial abuse is one of the primary reasons domestic violence victims stay in or return to abusive relationships. That’s why The Allstate Foundation has invested more than $55 million through their Purple Purse campaign, helping women obtain their financial independence and break free from abuse.
Each year, The Allstate Foundation hosts the Purple Purse Challenge to support hundreds of organizations that help victims of domestic violence. The Family Crisis Center is one of many nonprofits nationwide urging the public to support survivors of domestic violence and financial abuse during The Allstate Foundation Purple Purse Challenge. This is the second year that the Family Crisis Center is participating in the Purple Purse Challenge, which last year helped the agency raise $8,199.
On an average day in 2016, 12,000 requests from domestic violence and financial abuse survivors for services such as childcare and rent went unmet in the U.S. On any given day last year, West Virginia saw 352 victims of domestic violence seeking assistance. During 2017, the Family Crisis Center served more than 500 survivors of domestic violence in Mineral, Hampshire, Grant, Hardy and Pendleton Counties. The Purple Purse Challenge provides a critical funding source for domestic violence organizations that increasingly face high demand for their services.
As an incentive for donations, those who donate to the Family Crisis Center during the campaign will be entered for a chance to win the Purple Purse valued at $400 designed by this year’s Purple Purse Ambassador, Tennis Superstar Serena Williams. Abel & Associates All State Agency will be giving the purse away at the end of the challenge in October. Each donation will go towards helping victims of abuse find financial independence. By providing women with economic stability, Allstate believes women will be better equipped to become financially independent and to leave abusive relationships. Since Allstate started the campaign in 2005, the company has helped more than 1 million people create better lives for themselves and their families by raising more than $55 million. In addition to raising life-saving funds, the campaign shines a spotlight on a serious issue.
To join the Family Crisis Center in this challenge, or for more information, please visit the Family Crisis Center, Inc. Facebook page (@fcc911) or the Mineral County Purple Purse page (@mincopurplepurse) for upcoming events. If you or someone you know is in a domestic violence situation, call the Family Crisis Center at 1-304-788-6061
