Serena Williams combines style and charity for the Allstate Foundation Purple Purse Challenge

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month. Statistics show that 1 in 4 women will experience some form of domestic violence in their lifetime, with more than 3 million children bearing witness to these atrocities. It is an issue that could affect anyone without regard to things like ethnicity or socioeconomic status. For so many, escape may seem like a hopeless endeavor, but there are organizations that are here to help, like Allstate Foundation Purple Purse.

Allstate Foundation Purple Purse has been working tirelessly with nonprofits across the country since 2005 to raise funds and awareness for domestic violence survivors, including victims of financial abuse, which according to their website www.purplepurse.com, is “a prevalent and often misunderstood issue in our society” and the number one tactic used by abusers. They collaborate with nonprofits from all over the country to provide assistance to survivors of abuse, with donations going towards providing services like financial education and empowerment, childcare, legal services and counseling, food, shelter, transportation, etc. To date, they have raised over $60 million to help upwards of 1.3 million survivors across the country.

Since 2014, Purple Purse has been partnering with star of the ABC hit show Scandal, Kerry Washington, to create a bag representative of the cause for the annual challenge. For the second year in a row, however, Allstate Foundation Purple Purse has teamed up with tennis champion Serena Williams to design this year’s bag. The 2018 design is a beautiful deep purple suede and soft leather backpack, which features two front zippers and a tassel key chain. Unfortunately the backpack is unavailable for purchase, but you can win this gorgeous bag by participating in the Purple Purse Challenge and donating at least $10 to the cause, every $10 donated would get you 1 entry into the contest. The challenge runs from October 2-31, 2018, and also encourages competition among nonprofits to raise donations, with the winners securing their very own cash prizes to help further their own organization’s efforts to assist survivors.

Williams has always been passionate about discussing and eradicating societal issues like domestic violence, but has an even greater reason these days to be involved with Purple Purse. “Being a voice for women’s empowerment has always been incredibly important to me, and having Olympia has only made that more significant,” Williams told Yahoo Lifestyle about her participation. “Right now, one in four women experience domestic violence in her lifetime. As a mother, I want to make sure that every little girl, including Olympia, won’t have to face a statistic like that when she grows up. I want people to know how to see the signs and where to get resources, like those through Purple Purse, so they can help someone in need.”

According to the Purple Purse, 300 of the backpacks will also be given to shelters across the country to help raise money for those affected by domestic violence

SOURCE: The Allstate Foundation

IMAGE: The Allstate Foundation PSA