Dear Friends,

As you may have heard, Women In Distress has received an incredibly generous $500,000 challenge grant from The Jim Moran Foundation through which they will match dollar-for-dollar all gifts to the Power of One campaign, up to $500,000.  If we successfully reach the $500,000 goal, the campaign will generate $1,000,000 in funds that will help advance our shared mission to stop domestic violence abuse for everyone!

The Power of One campaign is especially important to the work we do since it will generate unrestricted funds to help offset lost revenue due to COVID-19. We have had to cancel our largest fundraiser, the Starfish Luncheon, for two years now.  While I am proud that we have a culture of fiscal stability at WID that has allowed us to keep our doors open throughout the pandemic, we are grateful that The Jim Moran Foundation and many other generous donors recognize our need to address existing and emerging operational needs. We would like to recognize The Fritch Foundation for its lead gift to the campaign, and Robert DeLizza for a major gift in honor of his late wife, Joanne Cardone DeLizza E-RYT 500, and their longstanding support of the Hal Herman Children’s Fund.

Another element to the Power of One campaign is the creation of the Mary Riedel Legacy Fund to help domestic survivors and their children.  As the CEO succeeding Mary, I am indebted to her for leading WID to tremendous growth and expansion while developing a culture that is unequivocally and unashamedly centered around survivors.  I also recognize that for many, Mary IS WID and I’m happy to provide the opportunity to honor Mary through a gift to this campaign.

We have many future plans we are working toward, such as access to transitional or affordable housing, and providing survivors with educational opportunities, job placement and other resources to help them move forward. These dollars can help set the stage for meeting those goals.

One victim has the power to break the cycle of violence for good. One donation has the power to help them get there.

Thank you for helping keep families safe.

Linda L. Parker, Ph.D.
President & CEO  

Women In Distress is conducting a survey to assess the needs within the community as it relates to domestic violence. Our goal is to clearly identify barriers to services, training opportunities and improve overall community responsiveness.

We would also like to hear from businesses that engage with survivors, such as local salons, veterinarian offices, medical offices, dentists, OBGYNs, etc., so please share. Your feedback will help us identify areas of strengths as well as areas of opportunities so we can continue to support domestic violence survivors in the ways they need.  Please take a few minutes to complete the survey by March 31. All responses will remain anonymous. We appreciate your commitment to improving services for victims of domestic violence in our community!

To complete the survey, please click here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BLQDK69