For the second October in a row, the Avon Foundation for Women donated $10,000 to fund Bystander Intervention Education at the Boston College Women’s Center by way of a grant.
The sum of money will go toward educating the BC community on how to be active bystanders with the goal of reducing sexual assault, stalking, and dating violence.
Katie Dalton, director of the Women’s Center, said she decided to create posters for sophomore dorms after reading about the effectiveness of social marketing booster programs on bystander behavior.
“The Bystander Intervention Education Program will be enhanced by the $10,000 Avon Grant and will be able to diversify programming as a result of the grant,” Dalton said. “Bystander is rolling out a social marketing booster program in the sophomore residence hall area beginning on Oct. 5, which was made possible by the grant.”
Dalton worked with two researchers to design the posters. She hopes that the posters, which are geared toward the BC community, will help enforce what the sophomores learned last year during bystander presentations.
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With the remaining funds, Dalton hopes to bring “A Long Walk Home,” a non-profit that uses art to educate, inspire and mobilize people to end violence against women and girls, to campus during Concerned About Rape Education (C.A.R.E.) Week in the spring.
The Avon Foundation for Women, founded in 1955, is the world’s largest corporate-affiliated philanthropy focused on issues that matter most to women. The foundation has contributed almost $1 billion in 50 countries, including donations of $250,000 to 25 colleges across the nation.
The goal of these donations is to help colleges educate their students about dating violence and sexual assault and to provide local resources for the students seeking help. With the help of Futures Without Violence, the Avon Foundation developed Guidelines for Preventing and Responding to Gender-Based Violence in Higher Education.The guide explains how to create a safe campus community and can be downloaded for free.
Today, the foundation focuses on funding breast cancer research and working to curb domestic and gender violence.
Featured Image by Sarah Hodgens / Heights Staff
