Pepperdine Students Fight Family Violence

The following is an edited press release from Interface Children and Family Services.

For their senior capstone project, five Pepperdine students have teamed up with Camarillo-based Interface Children & Family Services to raise money for the Family Violence Response Team.

Over the next six weeks, the five students--Martine de Gannes, Jennifer Jorgensen, Claire Kewish, Cynthia Peña and Marilyn Rothfus--will work closely with Interface to raise awareness and funds by partnering with local schools and businesses, including a Thursday fundraiser at TGI Friday's in Thousand Oaks.

"As we wind down the campaign to raise the needed money to sustain the Family Violence Response Team, we are excited to partner with Pepperdine to contribute to the final push," said Marti DeLaO, Director of Fund Development at Interface.

After the state grant that had fully funded the program for six years was lost, Interface worked quickly to implement a program to raise $180,000 to sustain the Family Violence Response Team through 2014. To date, the nonprofit has successfully raised $116,500 and has a goal to complete the campaign by June 2012. The students are working to help the organization raise the remaining funds while getting younger members of the community involved.

The Family Violence Response Team operates out of the Ventura community, as team members respond to the scene of domestic violence incidents at the request of law enforcement officials. Advocates work to help victims regain their independence, recover from the incident and support their families.

Two of the main target audiences for the student campaign are local schools. At Pepperdine University, the team recently led Domestic Violence Week on campus from March 26th-30th. One of the key components was a ‘Hand Print Project’ that encouraged students to pledge to never commit or condone family violence by adding their hand prints to a large display on campus.

To reach the younger members of the county, Interface is partnering with Newbury Park High School to raise awareness for family violence and its effects on children.

The Pepperdine group is partnering with the To Be Free Club at the high school to sell awareness wristbands for $1.  

Denise Ferguson, Director of Graduate Programs at Pepperdine University and the professor of the participating capstone public relations class said, "The project serves to give students a real-world example and prepare them for their future in the profession. The students give back to the community and help those in need while earning invaluable experience at the same time."