Happy Independence Day!

It is July 2 -- and I am thinking about the 4th of July which is Independence Day here in the United States. And technically, the 2nd of July is the day that the Continental Congress voted to separate themselves from the British Government so it is an important day too -- in fact I think that John Adams considered it the "real" Independence Day. But I digress.

I was reading one of those electronic billboards on my way to work today that said that the United States is the only country in the world with an actual birthday -- I wonder if that is true? If so, that is certainly an interesting factoid.

Independence Day -- coined with these words, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Those are really powerful, amazing words. And it is amazing to be free and live free and know who you are and why you are here on this earth.

For those who are not free for whatever reason today, who are cannot celebrate freedom or independence, I pray for the day that they are able to know true life, liberty and the pursuit of true happiness. I pray for safe homes, safe communities, safe countries, and a safe world on this "almost" Independence Day.

Rutgers University Awards First Verizon Wireless Hopeline Scholarships to Graduate Students Assisting Victims of Domestic Violence

I know it seems like I am writing a lot lately about Verizon Wireless, but it is just because they do a lot of cool things!

Rupa Khetarpal and Amanda Mathisen recently completed studies at Rutgers University School of Social Work where they were named 2008 VerizonWireless HopeLine(R) Scholars. Funded by a $100,000 Verizon Wireless grant, the Verizon Wireless HopeLine Scholarship Fund was created in conjunction with the Center on Violence Against Women & Children to recognize outstanding Rutgers University graduate students enrolled in the Master of Social Work (MSW)specialization on violence against women and children, the first such program in the country.

The Verizon Wireless donation was made possible through the company's HopeLine phone recycling program, which collects no-longer-used wirelessphones at its Communications Stores throughout New Jersey and nationwide.The phones are refurbished, recycled or sold and the proceeds are used toprovide wireless phones and cash grants to local shelters and non-profit organizations that focus on domestic violence prevention and awareness. Phones that cannot be refurbished are disposed of in an environmentallysound manner. Verizon Wireless was the first wireless carrier in the nation to collect and recycle old cell phones and has done so since January 1999, first in New Jersey and then across the U.S.

Nationally, the HopeLine program has collected more than 4.5 million wireless phones and givennearly $5 million in cash grants to domestic violence preventionorganizations. In addition to a successful phone recycling program and funding fornon-profit domestic violence prevention organizations, HopeLine includes free wireless service and voice mailboxes for survivors, community and corporate awareness initiatives, and a bilingual "Invest in Yourself"program designed to help survivors re-enter the workforce.

HopeLine phone donations also are accepted at all Verizon Wireless Communications Stores For store locations and additional information, visit http://www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline.

We are really so proud to have both Rutgers University School of Social Work and Verizon Wireless as CAEPV members!

Vantage Properties LLC CEO Signs On To SafeWork 2010

SafeWork Pledge: I am committed to addressing the issue of domestic violence in the workplace I recognize that domestic violence impacts my employees, my company and my business. Therefore, I pledge to take action, lead change, and raise awareness as a member of SafeWork 2010.

Congratulations to Neil L. Rubler, President and CEO, Vantage Properties LLC. Why I am congratulating him? Because he is the latest CEO to sign onto the pledge you see above -- a pledge to take action, lead change, and raise awareness of domestic violence as a workplace issue.

He joins the following CEOs that have already signed the Pledge:

Thomas J. Wilson, Allstate Insurance Company*

Louis C. Camilleri, Altria Group, Inc.*

Andrea Jung, Avon Products, Inc.*

Jens Bang, Cone, LLC

Mary Ann Scully, Howard Bank

Andrea Wong, Lifetime Entertainment Services*

William McComb, Liz Claiborne Inc.*

Steve Jacaruso, Le Sportsac

David B. Holl, Mary Kay Inc.*

Andrew R. Urban, Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo P.C.

Dr. Robert Pearl, The Permanente Medical Group, Kaiser Permanente*

Emanuel Chirico, Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation

Neil L. Rubler, Vantage Properties, LLC

Lowell McAdam, Verizon Wireless*

*CAEPV Member Company

There is no financial commitment for signing the SafeWork pledge and becoming a member of SafeWork 2010. And those who do receive an awesome CEO Action Kit created by Safe Horizon with the assistance of CAEPV – and provided through the generous support of The Allstate Foundation. What could be simpler?

Companies can choose to act on the pledge in a way that works best for them, but the CEO Kit even provides SafeWork 2010 Action Steps to help! Some of the Action Steps are joining the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence (http://www.caepv.org/), strengthening workplace policies that address domestic violence, hosting education and training sessions, and distributing educational materials about domestic violence to employees.We hope to see 200 companies on this list by 2010!

If you would like to join us, contact Melissa Madzel at mmadzel@safehorizon.org. Maybe we will see your CEOs name on this list!

Verizon Wireless Trains Almost 3,000 Managers Using SafeWork Certified Training Model

This is really cool! Since CAEPV Member Verizon Wireless implemented the SafeWork Certified Trainer model, 2,927 managers throughout the country have been trained at 181 trainings! Trainings were completed by the end of April for managers at Verizon Wireless’ 26 call centers across the country. Now Verizon Wireless will roll out the trainings to retail managers in 19 regions beginning at a conference this July.

Our partner Safe Horizon and CAEPV premiered this SafeWork training program during It’s Time to Talk Day in 2007. This “train the trainer” model is designed to create SafeWork Certified Trainers in partnering companies, including executives and senior HR staff who have completed a comprehensive curriculum customized to their company’s policies and procedures.

Just imagine the difference it can make for employees when a manager is trained to really recognize what is going on in the workplace and how to help in a compassionate, caring and professional way without compromising a person's privacy. And imagine getting that person to the resources needed quickly and efficiently. That is always important -- but vitally so in cases of domestic violence.

Note: Verizon Wireless is the first company to implement the SafeWork Certified Trainer program created by CAEPV Member Safe Horizon in partnership with the Corporate Alliance. If you are interested in learning more about this training, contact Melissa Madzel at mmadzel@safehorizon.org.

Corporate America Doing the Right Thing . . .One Life At A Time

I just love our CAEPV member companies – last week one of these companies went out of their way to help a victim of domestic violence who was not an employee but who had somehow managed to call their Employee Ethics Hotline for help. She found out that this particular company was one that supported domestic violence issues, and somehow found that Employee Ethics number.

As you can imagine, these calls go to internal human resources people. And they did not ignore this call. They made a report. And tried to figure out what to do. . .for a person who doesn't work for them.

So -- these amazing human resources people reached out to me and to others and together we figured out across the US how to get this victim of domestic violence the help she needed to get to herself safe and secure and to get her life back on track.

I hope you understand – this was NOT an employee. They did NOT have to do this. They just did it because they cared. They are amazing.

When people tell me that "Corporate America" stinks, I have the opportunity to talk with them about the "Corporate America" I get to work with here at the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence . . .the people who help move employees across the country, who help them get their names changed, who give them time off above and beyond what any law requires. . .just because it is the right thing to do.

And in this particular case, it was not even for an employee. It was for a "stranger" who called their Employee Ethics Hotline in need of help. And they answered. I hope the people who did that know how amazing they are! It is an honor to work with them each and every day.

I know that everyone can't get saved all the time, but it is pretty great to work with the people who represent "Corporate America" who are doing the right thing. . .one life at a time.

Domestic Violence - Never The Most Popular Table At The Workplace Wellness Fair

This week Dennis Butler (Vice President, Workplace Solutions at Liz Claiborne) and I had the opportunity to present together at the Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC) annual conference. There were well over 1,000 attendees at this event. But do you know how many attended the session on domestic violence and the workplace? Approximately 15 or 20.

Trust me, there was no other session even CLOSE to that topic, and it was very forward-thinking and bold of WERC to put the topic on the conference schedule. (Most topics were along the lines of “logistics, distribution networking, reasons to automate, transportation best practices, etc.”)

So you can imagine the 15 or 20 people who attended our session were pretty brave – and had pretty specific reasons for doing so. It is a very important reminder of why we do the work we do. . .we are still the uncomfortable and “unusual” topic. Of those in the room representing distribution companies, only three or four had workplace violence policies of any kind, and maybe one had a domestic violence in the workplace policy. I am hopeful that will be different after our presentation and the materials we provided.

This presentation and the “lack of attendance” was a great reminder of why CAEPV keeps on doing what it does . . . and why I do what I do. And I am so thankful for amazing people like Dennis Butler who are there to give the corporate perspective of why this is “Everybody’s Business”!

I was also very touched by one woman in particular I met at the conference in our session. She was supposed to attend with her friend, Cindy Bischof. But Cindy is no longer with us. She was killed on March 7 by her ex-boyfriend who violated a protection order and came to her workplace and shot her in the parking lot. I wrote about Cindy in this blog. Cindy is one of the reasons I do what I do – so employers learn what they can do to help so no one’s family or friends or co-workers go through the heartbreak that Cindy’s family and friends and colleagues are suffering. To learn more about Cindy, and what her family and friends are doing to try and make a difference, visit http://www.cindysmemorial.org/.

As I told those at the WERC presentation, we are never the most popular table at the workplace wellness fair. It is uncomfortable to think about domestic violence, and it is uncomfortable to talk about it. But -- if you are someone ready to “step out of your comfort zone” as an employer and find out what you can do to address this issue in your workplace, check out our website at http://www.caepv.org/. I promise you it will be worth it.

S2 - Safer, Smarter Workplace Conference: Reaching Employers and EAPs to Impact Domestic Violence

If you've read this blog before, you know it is devoted to domestic violence and the workplace, and how employers can address the issue.

But what if, instead of going from employer to employer. . . you reached out to someone who reached a LOT of employers all at once? Someone like an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider? And what if EAPs across the country were well-versed in the issue and had great capacity to work hand-in hand with the employers they serve to address this issue?

That is the idea behind the S2 - Safer, Smarter Workplace conference -- it is the first national conference convening employers and Employee Assistance Program (EAP) providers to leverage their work preventing and responding to domestic violence and its impact on the workplace.

The Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence is organizing this invitation only national conference to take place on November 6-7, 2008 in San Francisco, California. Conference participants will:

-Hear from experts about best-in-class prevention and response programs
-Learn proven ways to use EAPs effectively in addressing domestic violence as a workplace issue -Participate with peers in creating a Blueprint for Action that will identify emerging themes in the national landscape and generate national response
-Develop a 30-day action plans customized for their companies or programs
-Engage in meaningful dialogue and collaboration before, during and after the S2 - Safer, Smarter Workplace conference to drive constructive and positive change in the workplace

The products of the conference will be shared on the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence website and will be made available to any employer, EAP provider, researcher or other party wishing to access any research, products, materials, or outputs from the conference.

Pre-conference Webinar
Reserved for invited conference attendees, this pre-conference Webinar is designed to fast-track conference attendees and help them have a more meaningful and results-oriented conference experience. In just two hours, Webinar attendees will:

-Discover what they can achieve by participating in the conference
-Engage in interactive dialogue with experts on why domestic violence is a workplace issue
-Begin to turn obstacles into opportunities through the Blueprint for Action, a plan to be developed during the conference that will identify emerging themes in the national landscape and generate national collaboration and response

Key Partners
The S2 - Safer, Smarter Workplace conference is presented by the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence. This conference is made possible by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation with additional support provided by The Allstate Foundation, the Blue Shield of California Foundation and Health Care Service Corporation. The conference planning workgroup includes representatives from the following organizations: Chestnut Global Partners, CIGNA, Gap Inc, Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, Macy's West, Magellan Health Services, OptumHealth Behavioral Solutions.

We are very excited about the possibilities of this conference!

For more information, contact caepv@caepv.org.