Ceremony To Award The Spring 2016 “Cycle For Change” Scholarships To Survivors Of Domestic Violence
On Friday, April
8, 2016, at 11 a.m., El Paso County Attorney Jo Anne Bernal and Villa Maria
shelter director Linda Velarde will award five El Paso residents "Cycle for
Change" scholarships for the Spring 2016 semester. The event will take place at
the Villa Maria shelter, 920 S. Oregon.
All the
scholarship recipients are survivors of domestic violence who are fighting to
overcome obstacles to succeed in life. The funds can be used to pursue academic
goals, or to fulfil needs such as therapeutic services, child care, or any
other needs that might become an obstacle for the survivor of violence to move
forward with their life and increase their self-esteem.
The money for
the scholarships comes from the annual cycling tour "Cycle for Change: From Surviving
to Thriving," which was held on October 18, 2015, at Gallegos Park. The
event was created with the purpose of raising funds to help survivors to move
beyond breaking the cycle of domestic violence, to thriving as a survivor of
the social disease. More than 230 cyclists from the region participated in last
year's event.
"As an
organization that daily helps dozens of victims of domestic violence, it is
disheartening to see that many of them return to their abusive relationships
within days of a violent episode. This happens because the victims don't have
the tools or skills to survive on their own and to break the cycle of
violence," said El Paso County Attorney Jo Anne Bernal
"We are happy that these
scholarships will help some of those victims to move forward with their lives
and break away from the cycle of violence," Bernal concluded.
The scholarship program is open to
any primary survivor of a domestic violence relationship who resides in El Paso
County, regardless of their legal status in this country.
WHO: County Attorney Jo Anne Bernal, Villa Maria Director Linda
Velarde and survivors of domestic violence
WHAT: "Cycle
for Change" Scholarship Awards Ceremony
WHEN: Friday April 8, 2016, at 11:00 a.m.
WHERE: Villa Maria Shelter, 920 S. Oregon
# # #
2016 Cycle for Change Scholarship Program Press Release.pdf
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