Avon Launches Hello Tomorrow Fund, a Unique Program of 52 Weekly Cash Awards in the U.S. for Women's Empowerment

Panel of Judges to Include Suze Orman, Personal Finance Expert Hello

Tomorrow Fund Programs also Launching Worldwide

    NEW YORK, March 7 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of International
 Women's Day, Avon Products, Inc., a leading supporter of women's issues,
 announces a unique new initiative that will empower women and change our
 world: the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund. Every week for a year, commencing
 April 2007, the Hello Tomorrow Fund will award $5,000 to a U.S. individual
 to help realize a program, project or idea to empower women in one of three
 areas: business development, community service, or awareness and outreach.
 The winners will be selected by an expert panel of judges, including Suze
 Orman, America's most recognized expert on personal finance.
     Research has shown that an investment in women is an investment in the
 community. For over 120 years Avon has provided economic opportunity for
 women worldwide, often in places and at times when employment options were
 limited, and today there are 5.3 million independent Avon Sales
 Representatives in 100 countries. The Hello Tomorrow Fund has been created
 as another tool to drive the advancement of all women. The Hello Tomorrow
 Fund was announced by Andrea Jung, Chairman and CEO of Avon, at The Global
 Summit for a Better Tomorrow held at the United Nations, which was
 presented by Avon in partnership with the Virtue Foundation.
     "The Hello Tomorrow Fund is the latest realization of Avon's profound
 commitment to empowering women around the world," said Ms. Jung. "Given the
 resources, women can impact their lives, families and communities in
 meaningful ways. Women can change our world. It is in this spirit that we
 have created the Hello Tomorrow Fund, and I am especially gratified that
 the Hello Tomorrow Fund is also launching in various forms in 18 countries
 around the globe. Avon understands women, and we also understand the power
 of the individual to effect significant change."
     Ms. Jung announced the first honorary winner of the Hello Tomorrow
 Fund: Darlene Morgan Brown, Ph.D., a leader in the New Orleans charter
 school movement whose school was selected to participate in the Virtue
 Foundation Katrina Education Initiative, a program providing 21st century
 technology enabled education to hundreds of children affected by Hurricane
 Katrina. Among Dr. Brown's projects was the successful transformation of
 failing schools, only to see them heavily damaged by Katrina. With her
 Hello Tomorrow Fund award, Dr. Brown will start an entrepreneurship program
 for 6th and 9th grade girls and their mothers in the reconstructed Capital
 One University of New Orleans Charter School system, which includes many
 students who still live in trailers. "Education is the means to growth and
 sustainability for the individual and community," stated Dr. Brown. "Every
 child has leadership potential and the right to a quality education. With
 the Hello Tomorrow Fund award I will be able to help secure the financial
 future of the girls and their mothers."
     About the Hello Tomorrow Fund
     In the U.S., the Hello Tomorrow Fund will provide one $5,000 award per
 week to a deserving individual who will be selected from the pool of
 applicants by an expert panel of judges. Women and men are eligible to
 apply, and the winning programs must present unique and achievable
 initiatives to empower women or girls and ultimately improve society in one
 of three areas:
     - Business Development: A for-profit business that directly empowers women
       through its mission, product or service, or through the means of doing
       business.
     - Community Service: A non-profit project or program that helps women of
       any age realize their full potential or overcome obstacles.
     - Awareness & Outreach: Educate others about an issue that affects women
       to inspire and empower other women and have a positive impact on the
       issue.
     Applications and guidelines will be available at all times as of March
 8 at www.avon.com/hellotomorrowfund. Application submission and selection
 of winners will be organized in a quarterly cycle. One winner will be
 publicly announced every Tuesday through the Hello Tomorrow website
 beginning April 17, and profiles of the winners will be featured on the
 website to further share their inspiring ideas.
     To further support women's empowerment, www.avon.com/hellotomorrowfund
 will also offer links to resources and organizations in the areas of the
 awards -- business development, community service and awareness and
 outreach -- as well as general women's issues. This service will provide
 information to all persons interested in these issues regardless of
 participation in the Hello Tomorrow Fund.
     About the Judges
     Every application will be thoughtfully and carefully reviewed by an
 expert panel comprised of notable public figures, philanthropic leaders and
 heads of business, including:
     - Jillian Dempsey: influential makeup artist, beauty industry icon and
       entrepreneur
     - Anne T. Dowling: President of the Institute for Cultural Enterprise
       (ICE), a nonprofit agency; past President of the Texaco Foundation and
       Director of Corporate Contributions for Altria
     - Carol M. Kurzig: Executive Director of the Avon Foundation
     - Joan LaRovere, M.D.: Associate Director of the Pediatric Cardiac
       Intensive Care Unit at The Royal Brompton Hospital in London and co-
       founder and Vice President of the Virtue Foundation
     - Suze Orman: personal finance expert, Emmy Award-winning television host,
       author, magazine and online columnist, writer/producer, and motivational
       speaker. Suze's new book, Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control
       Your Destiny, was just released February 27.
     - Maria Peninger: Vice President of Representative Development for Avon
       Products, Inc. and  strong advocate for women's empowerment
     - Cynthia Rowley: award-winning fashion designer, author and entrepreneur
     - Joseph Salim, D.D.M.: tireless humanitarian, co-founder and Executive
       Director of the Virtue Foundation
     - Lynn M. Stekas: nationally-recognized leader in corporate community
       involvement, philanthropy and volunteerism, and former President of the
       MONY Foundation
 
     To Apply for the Hello Tomorrow Fund
     The fastest way to apply or learn more is at
 www.avon.com/hellotomorrowfund. For those without internet access, a friend
 or colleague can download a printable PDF file of the application on the
 website, or a request for paper copies of application materials can be sent
 to: Hello Tomorrow Fund, c/o Changing Our World, 220 East 42nd Street, 7th
 Floor, New York, NY 10017.
     About The Global Summit for a Better Tomorrow
     The Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund was announced at The Global Summit for a
 Better Tomorrow, which marked the eve of International Women's Day. The
 Global Summit for a Better Tomorrow took place at the United Nations in New
 York City on March 7 and was presented through a partnership of Avon with
 the Virtue Foundation, along with supporting organizations UNICEF, UNIFEM
 and UN-DESA. The Summit gathered some of the most influential and
 accomplished leaders in the area of women's empowerment throughout the
 world and addressed three major areas affecting women today: healthcare,
 education, and economic empowerment.
     About Avon Products, Inc.
     Avon, the company for women, is a leading global beauty company, with
 over $8 billion in annual revenue. As the world's largest direct seller,
 Avon markets to women in well over 100 countries through over five million
 independent Avon Sales Representatives. Avon's product line includes beauty
 products, fashion jewelry and apparel, and features such well-recognized
 brand names as Avon Color, Anew, Skin-So-Soft, Avon Solutions, Advance
 Techniques, Avon Naturals, Mark, and Avon Wellness. Avon is also a leader
 in corporate responsibility and philanthropy. In addition to a heritage of
 women's empowerment, Avon and the Avon Foundation have robust programs
 worldwide to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer, domestic violence
 and emergency disaster relief. Learn more about Avon, its products and
 programs at www.avoncompany.com.
     Countries slated to launch a local version of the Avon Hello Tomorrow
 Fund throughout 2007 include:
                          Argentina           Mexico
                          Australia           Philippines
                          Brazil              Poland
                          Canada              Russia
                          China               Taiwan
                          Colombia            Turkey
                          Czech Republic      UK
                          Hungary             Ukraine
                          Japan               Venezuela
 
 

SOURCE  Avon Products, Inc.