Avon Products, Inc. announced that the Avon Foundation for Women is donating $100,000 to Malala Fund, a charity that champions every girl’s right to 12 years of free, safe, quality education.
The donation will be channeled directly to advance education for girls in Brazil, Avon’s largest market.
Breaking down the barriers holding women and girls back, to create a better world for everyone, is a common goal for Avon and Malala Fund. Avon’s global program, stand4her, aims to improve the lives of 100 million women by creating opportunities to build success on their own terms. The plan includes initiatives such as the Avon Academy, a training platform to enable Representatives to learn beauty and business skills and the Global Scholarship Program, offering financial support to Avon’s beauty entrepreneurs and their families to continue their studies.
Malala Fund was founded by Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate, and her father, Ziauddin. Malala Fund works towards a world where every girl can learn and lead, breaking down the barriers that hold girls back. With a focus on the 130 million girls out of school worldwide, Malala Fund invests in local education activists known as Gulmakai Champions, amplifies girls’ voices and advocates to hold leaders accountable at local, national and international levels.
“In Brazil, indigenous and Afro-Brazilian girls are disproportionately marginalized and struggle to complete their education,” said Malala Yousafzai. “Malala Fund’s Gulmakai in Brazil are fighting for their future and we are grateful to the Avon Foundation for Women for investing in their work.”
The donation from the Avon Foundation for Women will be directed towards one of Malala Fund’s Gulmakai Champions who is working to advance girls’ education in Brazil by sparking social and systemic change for girls. In Brazil, 1.5 million girls are currently denied an education as a result of racism, exploitation and poverty.
“Like Avon, Malala Fund aims to break down the barriers keeping girls from achieving their full potential,” said Patricia Eisner, chief development officer of Malala Fund. “We share a vision to see a world where all women and girls can learn, and Malala Fund is grateful to the Avon Foundation for Women for investing in our work. Unlike countries with millions of out-of-school girls, Brazil could see every girl in school relatively soon.”
