18 Jun 2009 12:49 Africa/Lagos
President Barack Obama and his happy Family.
President Obama Chosen as Dad Most Deserving Respect
For Father's Day, RESPECT! Campaign Celebrates Dads Who Help Kids Build Healthy Relationships
SAN FRANCISCO, June 18 /PRNewswire/ -- This Father's Day the Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF), Macy's, and Geoffrey Beene Gives Back(R) are proud to support the RESPECT! Campaign(SM), a multi-year initiative designed to inspire a new movement that will help prevent relationship violence by promoting respect as a fundamental building block for healthy relationships and stronger homes and communities. In celebration of dads everywhere the campaign announced results of a survey revealing America's picks for the best role model dads. The number one spot goes to President Barack Obama, voted as the man who most deserves to be honored on Father's Day for publicly demonstrating the greatest level of respect in his family relationships.[i] Runners up for the "dad who deserves to be honored and respected this Father's Day" were Will Smith, Brad Pitt, and Ben Affleck.
The RESPECT! Campaign is also proud to join with the Founding Fathers, a nationwide group of men who have come together to declare their support for programs that engage men - as fathers, coaches, teachers, and role models - to teach and model respect as a key strategy to help prevent relationship abuse. The Founding Fathers are standing with the FVPF on Father's Day to speak out about the important role of men in modeling healthy relationships and respect within families and beyond. The Founding Fathers - which include men such as Willie Mays, Joe Torre, and Russell Simmons - pledge their public support for the cause in a full page statement in the national edition of the New York Times on Father's Day.
"In an uncertain world where stress is high, setting a tone of mutual respect in the family and teaching young people about the importance of respect in relationships is critical to preventing relationship violence and promoting healthy problem solving. That's why we created the RESPECT! Campaign," says Esta Soler, founder and president of the FVPF. "It's a social action and awareness initiative created with national support from Macy's that uses a positive approach to give parents, teachers, coaches and other role models the tools they need to teach young people about healthy relationships early and often."
Advisor to the RESPECT! Campaign and adult psychiatrist Dr. Janet Taylor offers these tips to help parents talk to their kids and break the cycle of violence:
-- Know that he/she is watching you - Financial and workplace worries can
easily be transferred to the home. Your child watches everything you
say and do - especially how you deal with stress and conflict and how
you treat others. Realizing that your child is like a sponge and that
s/he will learn from your example, Dr. Taylor suggests that parents
keep in mind their actions while in traffic, in restaurants and at the
dinner table - the more respectful behavior you model, the more your
child will learn from your example.
-- Be there - With so much stress in our lives now, Dr. Taylor says it's
important to spend time with your kids and to take advantage of
"teachable moments." Use relevant, real-life situations to teach
children about the importance of respect, positive role models and the
characteristics of healthy relationships.
-- Realize that we all make mistakes - The most important thing that
parents need to understand is that no one is perfect. The goal,
especially in hard and stressful times, is to gain strength through
the problems and learn from the past to make a better future.
The campaign honors role model dads and shares the endearing and memorable ways our fathers teach us love and respect every day. "By uniting in celebration of everyday role models - including the dads across America who are shaping a world free of relationship violence - we are advancing a nationwide movement for respect in relationships," said Martine Reardon, Macy's Executive Vice President of Marketing, "Macy's is proud to support the RESPECT! Campaign in delivering the powerful tools and resources needed to help parents, coaches, teachers and other role models teach the next generation how to live healthy relationships."
This Father's Day, the RESPECT! Campaign is offering several simple ways to thank the dads you know for the great example they set:
-- Give RESPECT! by sending a free Father's Day e-card. For every card
sent, Geoffrey Beene Gives Back(R) will make a $25 donation in the
recipients' name, up to $100,000.
-- Pass on RESPECT! by sending messages on Twitter, joining the RESPECT!
Campaign group on Facebook, adding an "I'm for RESPECT!" tag on your
blog, and sparking conversations with your friends.
-- Learn 10 tips every parent should know to teach children about healthy
relationships.
-- Make a donation to the FVPF in honor of a dad you respect.
-- Purchase and wear the RESPECT! wrist band, available exclusively at
Macy's for $5 in select jewelry departments and at www.macys.com. Half
of all proceeds go directly to the cause.
ABOUT THE FOUNDING FATHERS
On Father's Day 2003, 350 men from all walks of life joined in a historic public statement to call for an end to violence against women and children. This statement, which appeared as a full-page ad in the New York Times came to be known as the new Founding Fathers Declaration.
They call themselves the Founding Fathers because they intend to help build a new kind of society - where decency and respect require no special day on the calendar, where boys are taught that violence does not equal strength and where men stand with courage, lead with conviction and speak with one voice to say, "No More."
"We must teach our sons and daughters how to solve problems through conversation, not confrontation," adds Soler. "Dads have a critical role to play at home and throughout our society - demonstrating kindness, teaching compassion and keeping cool under pressure."
The Founding Fathers will voice their support in a full page New York Times statement running this Father's Day. Several thousand fathers and sons have joined the movement since its inception and several thousand more have been honored as Founding Fathers by women in their lives who make gifts in their name to the FVPF on Father's Day. The men aim to end relationship and domestic abuse by standing up and investing in prevention programs.
ABOUT THE RESPECT! CAMPAIGN
The RESPECT! Campaign is the Family Violence Prevention Fund's (FVPF) latest initiative to advance a national movement to promote healthy relationships and stop relationship violence through positive role modeling and respect education. Sponsored nationally by Macy's, with additional support from Geoffrey Beene Gives Back(R), the RESPECT! Campaign encourages individuals to help prevent and end domestic and dating violence, sexual assault, and other forms of relationship abuse by talking with young people early and often about respect, and modeling that behavior in their own relationships. Through conversation guides for parents, lesson plans for teachers, tools for coaches, and other instructional "Respect Tools," the campaign offers a variety of resources to support moms, dads, teachers, coaches, and other living, breathing role models who have critical roles to play in helping our sons and daughters shape a world that is free of relationship violence. To learn more, visit www.giverespect.org.
About the Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF)
For nearly three decades, the Family Violence Prevention Fund has worked to end violence against women, children, and families around the world, because every person has the right to live free of violence. For more information, visit www.endabuse.org.
About Macy's
Macy's, the largest retail brand of Macy's, Inc., delivers fashion and affordable luxury to customers at more than 800 locations in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. Macy's stores and macys.com offer distinctive assortments including the most desired family of exclusive and fashion brands for him, her and home. Macy's is known for such epic events as Macy's 4th of July Fireworks(R) and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade(R), as well as spectacular fashion shows, culinary events, flower shows and celebrity appearances. Building on a 150-year tradition, Macy's helps strengthen communities by supporting local and national charities that make a difference in the lives of our customers. For Macy's media materials, images and contacts, please visit us online.
About Geoffrey Beene Gives Back(R)
Geoffrey Beene Gives Back(R) represents a unique model for charitable giving in the fashion industry: 100% of net profits from Geoffrey Beene, LLC, are donated to philanthropic causes. The Foundation that bears the designer's name has made over $145 million in charitable commitments since 2006. To date, Geoffrey Beene Gives Back (R) has donated more than $600,000 to the RESPECT! Campaign.
[i] Online survey conducted April 2009 by Impulse Research for Family Violence Prevention Fund with a random sample of 1,011 men and women, 18+. Overall sampling error rate is +/-3% at the 95% level of confidence.
Source: Family Violence Prevention Fund
CONTACT: Lisa Brogan, +1-310-854-8278, LBrogan@currentlm.com, for Family
Violence Prevention Fund
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