Breaking the Silence: Children's Stories Airs on PBS This Thursday, October 20

DALLAS, Oct. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Breaking the Silence: Children's Stories, a powerful, new 60-minute PBS documentary underwritten by the Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation (MKACF), will premiere this Thursday, October 20 on PBS stations nationwide.

The documentary features poignant interviews of children, mothers and adult survivors of childhood domestic violence who tell their stories of abuse at home and continued trauma within the courts. The documentary, part of several MKACF programs in support of National Domestic Violence Month (October 1-31), will also be shown during special airings at shelters and safe houses across the U.S.

"The Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation is very proud to have underwritten the PBS documentary, Breaking the Silence: Children's Stories," said Anne Crews, Foundation Board member and vice president at Mary Kay Inc. "The Company and the Foundation are deeply committed to eliminating the crime of domestic violence, and supports programs that help domestic violence victims rebuild their lives and that increase public awareness of these issues."

"This new PBS documentary features moving and unforgettable profiles of those struggling to put their lives back together, from the adult children of abuse to those experiencing trauma today," Crews said.

Documentary Underwritten by $500,000 MKACF Grant

The PBS documentary, produced by Connecticut Public Television, is underwritten by a $500,000 grant from the Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation.

In determining content for the show, the producers included interviews of children and battered mothers. The documentary features segments with New York Yankees Manager Joe Torre, who dealt with domestic violence as a child and, in 2003, started the Safe-at-Home Foundation; and with Walter Anderson, chairman and CEO of Parade Magazine, who addresses the emotional and physical abuse he experienced from his alcoholic father.

The Foundation, along with Mary Kay Inc., also underwrote the production of a previous groundbreaking documentary, Breaking the Silence: Journeys of Hope, which premiered on PBS in 2001. This program has aired more than 800 times and reached 98 million households across the U.S.

"Company Founder Mary Kay Ash believed that motivation, recognition and an unlimited opportunity could empower women, enriching their lives and helping them achieve a better life for themselves and their families," Crews added.

"Sadly, one in three women in the U.S. today will be the victim of violence during her lifetime. Domestic violence, rape, stalking and murder threaten and destroy women's dreams, their families and, too often, their lives," Crews said. "That's why in the year 2000, the Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation decided to expand its mission to include funding to help end the epidemic of violence against women in the U.S. and around the world," added Crews, who also serves on the Boards of the National Network to End Domestic Violence and the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence.

Mary Kay's Independent Sales Force Contributes to Efforts

Thousands of Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultants, Sales Directors and National Sales Directors attending the Company's annual Seminar in Dallas in July demonstrated their commitment to ending domestic violence by making record contributions to the Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation.

The record contributions enabled the Foundation to provide $3 million in grants to 150 shelters and safe houses in all 50 states. The grants will enable the shelters to better help their clients, the victims of domestic violence, gain control and rebuild their lives.

Additionally, earlier this year, Mary Kay Independent National Sales Directors joined the National Network to End Domestic Violence in lobbying Congress for reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in Washington, D.C., originally implemented in 1995. Both houses of Congress have now approved separate versions of the new legislation.

"New legislation has been critically needed," Crews said. "Even with domestic violence reductions, as many as three million women are physically abused each year."

About the Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation

The Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation was created in 1996 to fund research of cancers affecting women, and in 2000, expanded its mission to include the prevention of violence against women. To date, the Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation has granted more than $13 million to these two causes. For more information about the Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation call 1- 877- MKCARES (1-877-652-2737) or log on to http://www.mkacf.org/.