A Letter from Robin McGraw

As I reflect on what this year has meant for When Georgia Smiled, The Robin McGraw Foundation, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. To our community, which has shown relentless commitment to the mission of ending domestic violence and sexual assault, I would like to express a most sincere thank you. Thank you to everyone who is working to keep victims of abuse safe, to raise awareness of this issue, and to halt all forms of domestic abuse and sexual assault. Together we are changing the conversation. Together we are building the support victims deserve. Together we are helping to build a safer, kinder, and more just world. I am so proud of how far we have come in building a community dedicated to empowering women and children to live healthy, safe, and joy-filled lives; and I can’t wait to continue to work with such amazing people in the effort achieve our mission.

When Georgia Smiled has had the utter privilege of working with many esteemed partners this year, including Los Angeles Mission, Union Rescue Mission, American Mothers, The Home Depot Foundation, Miami Dade College, Verizon, Girl Scouts of the USA, Laura’s House, Male Survivor, iAspire for Her, and Knock Out Abuse. Together, we have worked on a variety of initiatives and measures dedicated to impactful solutions to this most pressing problem facing our society today.

Finally, I would like to express deep gratitude to the rest of the When Georgia Smile Community: the WGS board, all our donors, and YOU! Your continued support will make a huge difference to our mission and to all those out there who deserve to live safe, healthy, and joy-filled lives. I am forever grateful for your support.

Robin McGraw, Founder / CEO
When Georgia Smiled: The Robin McGraw Foundation

The Verizon Summit

Many, many thanks to Verizon for teaming up with us to put together this exceptional event where pioneers in the field of domestic violence prevention could collaborate and discuss ways to raise awareness about the silent epidemic in our country that is domestic violence.

Girl Scouts Partnership

I still feel so honored and thrilled to be the National Celebrity Spokesperson for the Girl Scouts of the USA. I am particularly proud of the work When Georgia Smiled continues to do in partnership with the organization, especially on “TOGETHERTHERE”, the Girl Scouts largest-ever fundraising initiative. This work will ensure that there are enough volunteer troop leaders to serve the girls across the country who want to be part of the girl scouts. We are calling upon women and men to step up and serve our nation’s youth — we all have a role to play in developing the women leaders of tomorrow.

Laura’s House Partnership

One critical milestone of this year for When Georgia Smiled was the awarding of a $50K grant to Laura’s House, an organization that has provided shelter and support services to women and children for over 18 years. Laura’s House serves individuals victims of domestic violence, and with the help of this grant, will be able to strengthen its ability to provide these individuals and families much-needed legal protection as well. Thank you to Laura’s House for all the critical work you continue to do.

Male Survivor Partnership

While sexual abuse and assault has an increased presence in the national dialogue lately, one factor of this tragic problem is still rarely discussed: there are many men who are victims too. When Georgie Smiled has partnered with Male Survivor to support their work in providing resources to male survivors of sexual trauma. The grant money provided to MaleSurvivor will help the organization continue to support the healing efforts of all those men who have suffered from such trauma by bolstering MaleSurvivor’s reach and capacity to build a community of “Hope, Healing, and Support.”

iAspire Challenge

When Georgia Smiled, in partnership with Pivot and Students of the World, developed the iAspire Challenge to help college students raise awareness on campus sexual assault. Two grants were awarded in the name of the iAspire Challenge to individuals who were doing extraordinary work on their campuses to provide support services to victims, as well as working ardently to prevent future incidents of sexual assault. The leadership of each of the young men and women who applied for the challenge is an inspiration to us all.

iAspire for Her

I am so excited to have launched the iAspire For Her campaign, as it addresses an important area of focus for When Georgia Smiled: the role men play in preventing domestic violence and sexual assault. Our iAspire for Her initiative works with men across the country, particularly well-known athletes given their capacity to serve as role models on a large scale, to raise awareness and build momentum in the fight to stop sexual assault.

Knock Out Abuse

I’d like to share another word of thanks to the entire team at Knock Out Abuse and to all those on the front lines. Your relentless commitment, passion and unyielding fervor to ending domestic violence and sexual assault fills my heart and makes me so proud to stand with you.

ASPIRE APP and Curriculum

Our Aspire App and Curriculum continue to be formidable and innovative tools in service of victims and participants in the mission to stop violence and abuse. We were so proud to hear our app was recognized on Capitol Hill by the National Health Collaborative on Violence and Abuse as one of the two apps in 2014 to fight to end domestic violence.

Gifts that Keep on Giving: SOJO Partnership

When customers use social media to share their AveryLasting Love, Pure Joy Lip Gloss, and Light of My Life Collection purchases, our Sojo partnership allows Robin McGraw Revelations customers to leverage their networks to raise awareness and funds with every purchase. Proceeds benefit children in need and all the work done by When Georgia Smiled.