In October 2006, McMaster and Wal-Mart announced their partnership on a domestic violence public awareness campaign. The campaign was initially implemented as a pilot program in five (5) Wal-Mart stores located in the Pee Dee region. Domestic violence awareness posters were displayed in the women's restrooms and dressing rooms of the Wal-Mart stores with tear-off resource cards, written in both English and Spanish, listing the telephone numbers for domestic violence hotlines and local shelters. Wal- Mart also committed $10,000 to assist the program.
The effort worked:
The Pee Dee Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Assault tracked the number of calls to their victim hotline for three (3) months following the start of the project, and there was an overall increase of 60%.
Due to the success of the pilot program, Wal-Mart decided to make another $10,000 donation to combat domestic violence in South Carolina. With the increased funding, McMaster and Wal-Mart are now expanding the campaign statewide and broadening its scope by supplementing the awareness posters with both billboards and a website. The Attorney General's office will continue to administer the program.
"The first phase of this partnership effort has produced fantastic results," said McMaster. "We have long believed that women who knew who to call and where to go for help would use those resources. This program allows us to reach many women in the only places they may find a moment's escape from the turmoil in their lives."
"We are honored to play a role in bringing this program to citizens across South Carolina," said Clayton Crosby, Regional General Manager and Senior Vice President of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. "Placing domestic violence awareness posters in the women's restrooms and fitting rooms of each of our Wal-Mart stores will help to reduce the tragic toll this quiet villain plays in the health of South Carolinians."
Domestic Violence awareness posters will be placed in the women's restrooms and fitting rooms of every Wal-Mart store in the state. Domestic Violence awareness billboards will be installed in various locations across the state, thanks to assistance from the Outdoor Advertising Association of South Carolina. Both posters and billboards will display the address of the newly created website for the campaign: www.YouBr eakTheSilence.com. This website will offer further information about resources available to victims of domestic violence.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has over 25,000 associates in South Carolina. In 2005, Wal-Mart Stores and SAM'S CLUB gave $3,159,692 in cash and in-kind donations to local causes and organizations in the communities they serve in the state of South Carolina. Through additional funds raised through stores and Clubs throughout the state, Wal-Mart contributed and raised a grand total of $4,622,741 as a result of its presence in South Carolina.
McMaster thanked the Photography and Design Section of the State Department of Natural Resources and the Outdoor Advertising Association of South Carolina for the volunteer time and effort they dedicated to the creation of the posters and billboards used in the program.
*This area Wal-Mart store has already installed the domestic violence posters and welcomes visiting media:
Wal-Mart Supercenter
Personnel Manager: CARALEE BERRY
Telephone: (803) 783-1277
Address: 7520 GARNERS FERRY ROAD COLUMBIA, SC 29209
**The first billboard in the Columbia area to be installed is now located in the parking lot of 3722 River Drive.
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Contact: Mark Plowden
Communications Director
803-734-3670
mplowden@ag.state.sc.us
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