This holiday season, the Avon Foundation is supporting the The National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH), which helps people to build safer homes by answering calls and messages via online chats. Avon will be matching all donations made to NDVH in December, up to $200,000.

To highlight this donation opportunity, NDVH has designated December 3rd, #GivingTuesday, and employees will build a “Gingerbread Hotline,” set up to take donations. When a visitor to TheHotline.org makes a donation on December 3 or #GivingTuesday, he or she can select an embellishment of their choice and watch as it is attached to the Gingerbread Hotline. Anyone can watch the building as it takes place via live video streaming.

Carol Kurzig, president, Avon Foundation for Women, commented:

“The Avon Foundation’s #GivingTuesday donation aims to harness the power of our new social media campaign, #SeeTheSigns, to inspire women and men of all ages to raise awareness about a cause that is often hidden from the public eye.”

Kuig added, “One in every four women is a victim of domestic violence, and she may be your sister, daughter, friend or neighbor. The most meaningful gift we can give our loved ones, friends and neighbors this holiday season is a future free from violence. Every donation to the National Domestic Violence Hotline will help ensure that someone is available to answer the most important call of a victim’s life.”

Katie Ray-Jones, NDVH president, said:

“As a non-profit organization, we rely on donations. Unfortunately, every year about 52,000 calls go unanswered because of a lack of resources. With these funds, we will be able to staff an additional pool of advocates having more than 12,500 hours for answering calls and online chats. This translates to helping an estimated 23,695 more people.”

The Avon Foundation for Women’s Speak Out Against Domestic Violence program has been a strong supporter of the hotline, giving more than $500,000 to the organization over the years.