Pottsville, PA- Empire Education Group’s annual ‘Empire Gives Back’ fundraising competition brought in $457,336.09 in donations, supplies and free services for women’s shelters across the country.
During the 5 month competition, students competed to see which school could raise the most donations per student.
From August 1st through December 31st, 2010 students collected as many cash donations, and in-kind donations, such as clothing and food, as possible.
The competition also included sales from Empire’s Annual National Day of Beauty, a one day event, in which 100% of proceeds from each student salon are donated to local shelters.
Each of Empire’s 102 schools in 21 states has ‘adopted’ a local women’s shelter to support. In addition to the annual fundraising competition, schools raise money and donations throughout the year, as well as offer free beauty services to women and children who are residents at the shelter.
In addition to this support, Empire Education Group has incorporated the ‘Cut It Out’ curriculum into all of its schools. “Cut It Out” is a nation-wide program for cosmetology professionals, training stylists on the signs of domestic violence and how to respond to clients who may shows signs of abuse.
“I am extremely proud of the effort and level of commitment our students and staffs have shown to their local shelters.” said Franklin K. Schoeneman, Chairman and CEO of Empire Education Group. “1 in 4 women in this country will report experiencing domestic violence in her lifetime. For me, that number is way too high for an industry like ours to ignore. Empire is committed to doing what it can to support those fighting against this crime, particularly in the communities in which our students and staff live.”
Each school will present their donation to their adopted shelter at a series of local open houses this year
Schools which raised $100 worth of donations per student will receive 10 free seats to Empire’s Future Professional Expo, the nation’s largest cosmetology student competition and hair show in the country.