11/01/23
Gadsden State receives grant to promote healthy relationships
Gadsden, Ala. — Gadsden State Community College received the first grant awarded by the Megan Montgomery Foundation to Prevent Domestic Violence Inc. The grant is $3,140 and will be spent on a digital awareness campaign that promotes healthy relationships in an effort to prevent relationship violence before it starts.
“We are honored to be the recipient of this grant,” said Dr. Kathy Murphy, president of Gadsden State. “The implementation of this program further strengthens the on-going initiative to make sure our students and employees are safe.”
The digital awareness campaign is known as “Know Your Power Partner Violence Prevention Program.”
“This program ensures that our students and employees are informed of safe and helpful ways to advocate for friends in need as well as the needed encouragement to speak up,” said Elizabeth Wheatley, Gadsden State’s grant writer who secured the funding.
The Megan Montgomery Foundation was founded by Megan’s mother, stepfather and sister after she was murdered in 2019 by her husband, a former police officer in Hoover. She was 31 years old.
“The foundation is a catalyst for change by educating about relationship violence to eliminate the stigma and shame and to save lives with early intervention before the harm and trauma occurs,” said Meredith Montgomery, the foundation’s executive director and Megan’s sister.
She said they are thrilled to partner with Gadsden State for this important program.
“The reason we use the word ‘partner’ is because we are all partners on the same mission – to keep our youth safe and to empower them to help each other,” she said. “We want young dating adults to have the information that my sister, her friends and our family did not.”
For more information, visit www.MegansFoundation.org.