Photo of the late Mary Kay Ash via Mary Kay Ash Foundation on Instagram

Guided by the vision of the late Preston Hollow resident Mary Kay Ash, founder of Dallas-based Mary Kay, Inc., the Mary Kay Ash foundation supports women through two main areas of focus — domestic violence and cancer research.

A representative Tuesday announced the disbursement of $2 million in grants nationwide. A full list of recipients is listed here on the foundation website. In Texas, they awarded a $20,000 grant to the Houston Area Women’s Center. A foundation in each state plus Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands received $20k to help finance critical needs including emergency shelter, transitional housing, counseling and legal aid.

“All of these resources support women and children as they seek refuge and relief on their journey to a life free of abuse,” according to Tuesday’s announcement.

Here in our region Mary Kay awarded $25,000 grants to four shelters — Hope’s Door New Beginning Center, Genesis Women’s Shelter & Support, Denton County Friends of the Family and The Family Place — totaling $100,000 to support domestic violence workers responding to women and children in need.

Cancer research grants were awarded to ten researchers from the country’s top cancer research institutes and universities who are conducting ground-breaking studies in cancers that primarily affect women, according to a press release from Mary Kay Foundation. The grants fund innovation to help with better detection, prognosis and treatment of cancers affecting women and are part of Mary Kay Ash Foundation’s annual cancer research grant cycle. The Foundation has awarded more than $25 million to more than 250 researchers since inception.

The foundation’s Research Review Committee, made up of previous years’ grant winners, generously gave their time to review nearly 65 applications from the top accredited research institutes and universities in the country, according to the news release and landed on 10 recipients who will receive $100,000 each for their outstanding research proposals. Recipients include:

The General Hospital Corporation d/b/a Massachusetts General Hospital
Indiana University
NYU Grossman School of Medicine
UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine
The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University
Tufts University School of Medicine
University of South Carolina
The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
UT Southwestern Health Systems
The Wistar Institute

“The Mary Kay Ash Foundation continues its steadfast mission to support cancer researchers who are seeking cures for cancers affecting women and provide life-saving resources to domestic violence shelters across the country,” said Ryan Rogers, vice president of the Mary Kay Ash Foundation Board of Directors and grandson of Mary Kay. “These grants enable some of the brightest minds to continue their research efforts, bring hope to women who are facing a cancer diagnosis and support the first responders who worked tirelessly to help domestic violence survivors and their families. By continuing support for these scientists and organizations, we know we are continuing our mission to better the lives of women everywhere.”

To learn more about how to educate, advocate, volunteer and donate visit marykayashfoundation.org, or find them on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.