This post was sponsored by The Allstate Foundation as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.
I’ll never forget those words. I’ll never forget where I was, or the feelings I felt when I got the news. I woke up early one Saturday morning to drive down to my hometown to visit with my family. Not long after I left, I decided to give a quick call to my dear friend Allie* to see if she would be in the area later that afternoon. I had been carrying around a secret from her for about 10 weeks, and I was SO ready to break the news to her that I was going to become a mother. Growing up together, we always talked and daydreamed about the day that we would become mothers. We’d laugh and smile imagining what our children would be like, and how we’d be in big trouble if their personalities were anything like ours. I had been waiting for this moment for so long, and I just knew she was going to flip when I got to sit down and show her the ultrasound picture.
Only, the way that I had envisioned telling her that news never came to fruition. Instead, my words were stopped cold in their tracks when I called to speak to her that morning. Instead of hearing Allie’s sweet voice on the other end of the phone, I heard the tremble behind her mother’s voice as she told me that Allie was laying right beside her in a hospital bed – alive, but badly beaten.
Domestic violence comes in many ugly shapes and forms, and its mangled claws affect way more than just the person they physically touch. Allie didn’t deserve the pain and agony that she suffered that day, but the monster that had her so tightly clinched in its grip wanted nothing more than to make her believe that she did. Allie’s physical recovery took weeks, but the emotional damage that was done left her with scars that may take a lifetime to heal. Although I had never met the person that did this to her, I felt the sting of his actions deep down to my core as well. He robbed Allie of so much, and he also robbed me of creating a beautiful memory with one of my best friends – one that I had dreamed of making for most of my life.
Allie was able to break the chains that held her in that horrible relationship. The ties that tried to bind her were severed, and Allie has been free from her attacker for almost 3 years now. Unfortunately, domestic violence still rears its ugly head every single day in homes all around us, and many of its victims continue to stay in their abusive relationships because they feel that there is no way out. Financial abuse is actually a leading cause of victim’s staying or returning to those relationships, occurring in 99% of all domestic violence cases. Many people do not have the ability to access enough money to break free and to find a steady footing on which they can stand on their own. Millions of people suffer through the abuse because they feel like there is no way out of the prison that they’re living in.
That’s where Allstate Foundation Purple Purse comes in to shines its light as a beacon of hope to those who are living in domestic and financial abuse situations. Its primary goal is to help end domestic violence and financial abuse through financial empowerment. Because many victims of domestic violence feel they cannot leave due to financial reasons, Allstate Foundation Purple Purse aims to help pull victims from the silence and provide safety, security and a financial footing for those affected to build their new lives on. The Allstate Foundation has invested more than $55 million to empower women to break free from abuse and has brought more than 1 million victims to the path of safety and security.
Although those numbers are absolutely outstanding, there are still so many who are suffering in silence under the shadows of domestic violence. Through Allie’s horrible situation, I learned that domestic violence doesn’t discriminate at all. It doesn’t care how young or old you are, what your religious affiliation is, what neighborhood you live in or what race you are. Domestic violence and financial abuse can affect anyone, and Allstate Foundation Purple Purse stands to provide for those who cannot see the light when their lives become painfully dark.
Whether your life has been touched by a case of domestic violence in some way or not, you can give a hand of help to those who are still suffering. You can be the one to offer hope to women who are too fearful to leave their homes because of a financial setback. A small donation to Allstate Foundation Purple Purse can provide resources to victims to help them break the silence and start a new life free from their prison of pain and suffering, and it can make a world of difference for that person for years to come.
Allie was able to receive assistance from other caring hearts in her deepest time of need, and that love and generosity has helped guide her to let her beautiful, strong willed and free spirit shine brighter today than it ever has before. The impact your dollars can make can move mountains in the life of another!
To learn more about The Allstate Purple Purse Foundation, or to learn about how you can make a monetary donation to help empower victims of domestic violence, visit theAllstate Foundation Purple Purse website today.
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