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WOMEN’S CENTER OF SAN JOAQUIN RECEIVES GRANT FROM TARGET TO SUPPORT SERVICES FOR VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT

October 24, 2005

Stockton - Women’s Center of San Joaquin today announced a partnership with Target in recognition of its efforts to prevent and abolish domestic violence and sexual assault in our community. The grant will help to support the agency’s direct services for battered and abused women, children and men in San Joaquin County.

“The agency is grateful for this ongoing partnership with Target. We can not fight this fight along – to end the cycle of violence and abuse in our community. It is community businesses such as Target that enables us to sustain our crucial services for victims and to continue to meet the growing demand for the agency’s services”, states Leslie Heier, Development Director.

This grant is part of the ongoing support Target provides to local communities throughout the country. Every week Target gives more than $2 million to strengthen families and communities across the nation, with a focus on education, the arts, social services and other vital community partnerships.

“At Target, we are making a real difference every day through our grant making program,” said Laysha Ward, Vice President, Community Relations, Target. “We’re proud to partner with Women’s Center of San Joaquin as part of our ongoing commitment to give back to the communities where our guests and team members live and work.”

Additionally, Target also gives back through signature programs that are designed to inspire learning in children and families. Programs include:

• Take Charge of Education®, a school fundraising program
• Ready. Sit. Read!, a program dedicated to fostering the life-long love of reading in children
• Start Something®, a partnership between Target and the Tiger Woods Foundation, which helps kids build core values
• Target House®, which serves as a home away from home for families of children receiving life-saving treatment at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, and
• Target Volunteers, where Target team members and retirees annually donate more than 300,000 hours of time to more than 7,500 community based projects

Since 1976, the Women's Center continues to be the sole provider of services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault throughout San Joaquin County, reaching over 24,000 victims annually. The agency operates its main business office in Stockton, a satellite office in Lodi and Tracy and three emergency shelters, DAWN (Direction for Abused Women In Need) House located in Stockton, VINE (Violence Is NOT Excusable) Safe House located in Lodi and TREE (Tracy Refuge for Education and Empowerment) House located in Tracy. Each year, nearly 500 women and children seek refuge at our shelters. The agency comprehensive services include individual counseling and support groups, 24 hour crisis lines, court accompaniment and advocacy services, hospital response, assistance in filing out temporary restraining orders, information and referrals, legal assistance, parenting classes, in-home case management, community outreach and prevention education outreach workshops to children, youth, educators, care providers and community citizens in schools, businesses and organizations throughout the County in efforts to prevention victimization and or the re-occurrence of victimization. All services are free and confidential and available to anyone in need of our services.

About Target

Target gives back more than $2 million a week to its local communities through grants and special programs. Since opening its first store in 1962, Target has partnered with nonprofit organizations, guests and team members to help meet community needs. Additionally, Target team members and retirees donate more than 300,000 hours to more than 7,500 projects each year.

Contact:

Joelle Gomez, Executive Director
Women’s Center of San Joaquin County
(209) 941-2611