BETHESDA, Maryland, Sept. 23, 2014 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — National Capital Area Council (NCAC), Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is proud to announce that Vincent J. Napoleon, partner at Nixon Peabody LLP, has been selected as the 2014 Attorney of the Year in recognition of his industry leadership and dedication to the youth of the greater D.C. metropolitan area. He will be recognized at the Attorney of the Year Luncheon on November 18 at The Society of the Cincinnati’s Anderson House.

“The Attorney of the Year is one of our ‘Good Scout’ Awards, recognizing local leaders who exemplify the values of the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives,” said Les Baron, Scout Executive and CEO of NCAC. “Vince is an excellent role model for our youth of where perseverance and determination can take you.”

Napoleon is with Nixon Peabody’s Commercial Litigation practice. Based in Washington, D.C., he focuses on complex commercial transactions, government contracts, and life sciences. He is a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel, former senior member of the staff of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Contracting, and former Senior Contracting Official for the Air Force District of Washington. For more than 25 years throughout his legal career, Napoleon has served in significant leadership positions including his role as general counsel of major divisions of defense and aerospace companies among the Fortune 100, including GE and Lockheed Martin, as well as being a principal attorney in the merger of Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand, and general counsel of public biotechnology and pharmaceutical-related companies. Napoleon earned his J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and his B.S. from Georgetown University.

“I am deeply honored and humbled by this award from the Boy Scouts,” says Napoleon. “This award has a special meaning to me and represents the culmination of my scouting experience which began in 1968 as a Cub Scout.”

Napoleon’s son Ian is also involved with Scouting, having earned his Eagle Scout Award earlier this year. As part of earning his rank, Ian led a project to combat malaria by bringing mosquito nets to impoverished communities in Africa.

About National Capital Area Council, BSA

National Capital Area Council was organized in 1911 and today stands as one of the oldest and largest councils in America. The Council territory includes the District of Columbia; Frederick, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s counties in Maryland; and in Virginia the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Prince William, Loudoun, Fauquier, Spotsylvania, Caroline, King George, Stafford and Culpeper, the independent cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, Fairfax, Manassas, Manassas Park, and Fredericksburg; as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands. For more information, please visit www.NCACBSA.org.

CONTACT:
Aaron Chusid: 301-529-4091 / [email protected] 
Alisha Stewart: 301-214-9159 / [email protected] 

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — The NFL’s Roger Goodell has yet to show any understanding that alcohol use by players is a major cause of domestic violence, child abuse, arrests and even suicide and homicide. Though he has shown progress in recognizing that domestic violence is a serious problem, he and the sport’s biggest sponsor – Anheuser-Busch InBev – continue to blame individual behavior as the cause. What they continue to ignore is the influence of the complete saturation of the NFL with alcohol sponsorships of teams, stadium advertising, tailgating, beverage sales and TV broadcast of games, especially the big one in February.

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Anheuser-Busch InBev distanced itself from Rodger Goodell and the NFL on Tuesday, September 16, 2014 with a hypocritical statement of concern over “…the league’s handling of behaviors that so clearly go against our own culture and moral code.”

“Anheuser-Busch InBev, with it’s half-a-billion a year budget for alcohol ads, team branding, and sports association sponsorships, heavily contributes to a culture of excessive consumption among players, fans and viewers at home,” stated Michael Scippa, Director of Public Affairs for Alcohol Justice. “To deny any responsibility in the wake of the NFL’s problems, or the massive alcohol-related harms their products cause to the public, is just ludicrous.”

Even the Daily Show, disturbingly infused with alcohol advertising of its own, which many youth watch, exposed the irony of AB InBev’s statement. Isn’t AB InBev’s chief “culture and moral code” to sell more beer for fans to consume at stadiums, tailgating parties, sports bars and at their homes? And then they solely place blame on players if they are abusive and destructive while under the influence?

Sometimes tragic accounts in the press covering player behavior in the last few years have too often cited excessive alcohol consumption as a cause of DUIs and auto accidents, a girlfriend homicide followed by suicide after a night of drinking, and incidents of domestic abuse and youth endangerment. This is not surprising, as the Centers for Disease control and prevention list alcohol as a major contributor to motor vehicle death and harm, suicides and homicides, and a contributor to child endangerment.

Throughout the year, sports-related alcohol over-consumption leads directly to tens of thousands of incidents of alcohol-related violence and harm. In the stands, in the tailgating parking lots, in bars and restaurants, in people’s homes and on the roads connecting all, the tragedy of alcohol misuse grows, like a metastasizing cancer.

“Alcohol in big sports is big business and very harmful to society, its youth, public health and safety,” stated Alcohol Justice’s Executive Director/CEO Bruce Lee Livingston. “AB InBev CEO Carlos Brito can declare all day long that the problem is the NFL’s, but both the NFL and the beer barons need to back away from advertising and team sponsorships. They need to help players recover from the seductive and lucrative culture of drinking that surrounds and infuses the NFL. Goodell needs to institute alcohol policies on advertising, beverage sales, tailgating, and player consumption. Most importantly Goodell needs to acknowledge that prevention of domestic abuse and player violence off the field has to begin with the end of the NFL’s promotion of alcohol.”

Research has shown that the more alcohol ads seen, the more likely people are to drink, drink to excess, and drink more often. This is especially true for children. In 2009, the Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking reported that 5,000 people under age 21 die annually from alcohol-related injuries. Hundreds of thousands more suffer alcohol-fueled sexual assaults, serious injuries, diseases, and academic failure. How many of these incidents of harm have been influenced by aggressive and excessive alcohol advertising during sporting events?

Here are some tragic recent examples of alcohol-fueled incidents of harm involving NFL players:

• Paul Oliver (29 year old former San Diego Charger) committed suicide in front of his family after drinking September 24, 2013.
• Jovan Belcher (Kansas City Chiefs) killed his baby’s mother and then himself at the stadium practice after drinking December 1, 2012. Five police didn’t test him for alcohol at 3:05 am and fail to haul him in just hours before the murder. (Video at http://huff.to/1wRIBLN)
• Said TMZ Sports, “Ray Rice says hard liquor was the fuel that triggered his elevator rage and he hasn’t touched the stuff in months…Rice told the Baltimore Ravens he and Janay Palmer had been drinking HEAVILY before the altercation. Rice is telling friends he becomes a different person when he boozes it up … so he’s changed his life. But he hasn’t changed that much, because we’re told he still drinks wine … just not hard liquor. (Read more: http://bit.ly/Z1UAZt)
• Aldon Smith, San Francisco 49ers linebacker, received 12 days jail time for DUI and was allegedly drunk when shooting off guns at his own house party that led to felony charges.
• Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings Running Back, was arrested Sept. 7, 2012 for resisting arrest while heavily intoxicated. (We have no report of alcohol before his incidences of child abuse.)
• Greg Hardy, Carolina Panthers pass rusher, admitted to drinking champagne before a domestic violence incident and was ordered to attend alcoholics meetings.

These are unfortunately just a few of the alcohol-related incidents involving sports personalities in the last few years. Professor Harry Edwards, a sports sociologist and consultant to the NFL, was quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle September 13, 2014, saying, “The No. 1 factor in domestic violence is not the sport, it’s not steroids, it’s not amphetamines – it’s alcohol. That’s been my experience.”

“In the NFL culture of game aggression and beer marketing, the players alone can’t be blamed for alcohol abuse, binge drinking and addiction that leads to domestic violence, homicide, suicides and traffic collisions,” added Livingston. “We demand the NFL and sports’ biggest beer sponsors Budweiser and Coors educate on the harms and dangers of alcohol, get advertising and overconsumption out of the game, and recognize moderation and (horror of horrors) abstinence as legitimate choices for players and fans.”

Read more about the toxic social norm of mixing Big Alcohol and Big Sports Stadiums here: http://bit.ly/hK6Dg3

Learn more about the work of Alcohol Justice here: http://bit.ly/1uN5GNn

Contact: Michael Scippa: 415 548-0492
Jorge Castillo: 213 840-3336

DALLAS, Sept. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — While domestic violence has experienced a recent boost in awareness, shelters around the country are struggling to overcome funding gaps which directly affect their ability to provide resources for women and children fleeing abuse.

In advance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, The Mary Kay Foundation^SM is awarding $3 million in grants to 150 domestic violence shelters in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. Each shelter will receive a $20,000 grant to maintain critical services and programs.

“It’s been a bigger challenge than ever for shelters to keep their doors open and grants from The Mary Kay Foundation^SM are a vital part in helping shelters move forward in their missions,” said Anne Crews, board member for The Mary Kay Foundation^SM and Vice President of Public Affairs for Mary Kay Inc. “We have witnessed significant progress in raising awareness that domestic violence is an unacceptable crime but there is much more work to be done. These grants are a signature program for us and we know the nearly 400,000 women and children served by the 150 shelters receiving our funding will have their lives changed for the better and join The Mary Kay Foundation in changing the dialogue surrounding abuse for generations to come.”

While more than half of the grant recipients use the unrestricted funds for basic operating expenses including utilities and meal preparation, others hire much needed personnel, complete repairs and facility renovations or add additional programs and resources based on the unique needs of their shelter and the clients they serve.

The Domestic Violence Project in Ann Arbor, Mich. is using their grant from The Mary Kay Foundation^SM to increase language services provided by their helpline. In New York, the Urban Resource Institute will be able to offer computer training as part of their expanded working internship program. Clients of the Marie Detty Youth and Family Services Center will now have a storefront to shop for free clothing to replace items they left behind when leaving their abusers. Iva’s Place in Lenoir City, Tenn., just 30 miles southwest of Knoxville, is using their funding to conduct healthy relationship workshops for high school students in hopes of ending the cycle of abuse before it starts. In St. Louis, an overnight advocate will be hired at St. Martha’s Hall to assist with the intake and care of clients. More prevention efforts are underway in Northern California at the Westside Domestic Violence Shelter in Orland where a self-defense class will be taught.

“There is never going to be enough money to address the full needs of shelters and their programs,” said Crews who, as a long-time advocate against abuse, is the Mary Kay liaison to the American Bar Association’s Commission on Domestic Violence and Sexual Violence and serves as president of the board of directors for the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence. “It’s up to all of us to volunteer or get involved with nonprofits focused on the issue.”

For years The Mary Kay Foundation^SM has supported the prevention and elimination of domestic violence, an epidemic that touches one in every four women in her lifetime. Through the Foundation’s annual shelter grant program, $37 million has been granted to domestic violence organizations since 2000. Each year, grants are awarded to at least one domestic violence shelter in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam with remaining grants distributed based on state population. Nearly 700 shelters applied for funding this year.

Click here for a full list of 2014 grant recipients or visit marykayfoundation.org for additional information.

About The Mary Kay Foundation^SM
The Mary Kay Foundation^SM was created in 1996, and its mission is two-fold: to fund research of cancers affecting women and to help prevent domestic violence while raising awareness of the issue. Since the Foundation’s inception, it has awarded more than $37 million to shelters and programs addressing domestic violence prevention and nearly $22 million to cancer researchers and related causes throughout the United States. More than 97% of each donated dollar goes to the missions. To learn more, visit marykayfoundation.org or call 1-877-MKCARES (652-2737).

For More Information:
Rebecca Gibson
972-687-5420 or [email protected]

Photo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140921/147444

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Fuad El-Hibri, Chair of the El-Hibri Foundation’s Board of Trustees, announced the selection of Pietro Ameglio as the 2014 El-Hibri Peace Education Prize Laureate.  On October 15, Ameglio will receive the award and the $20,000 cash prize in Washington, DC, and three graduate students will also receive $5,000 scholarships to further their peace education studies.  Ameglio will join a distinguished cohort of El-Hibri Foundation Peace Education Prize Laureates, whose accomplishments are described here: 

http://www.elhibrifoundation.org/peace_education/prize

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Born in Uruguay but educated in Mexico, Ameglio is an activist and peace educator who is one of the most important teachers and practitioners of active nonviolence in Latin America.  He has co-founded many vehicles promoting peace in Mexico, including the Mexican Peace and Justice Service (SERPAJ, 1987), a chapter of the SERPAJ nonviolence network spanning Latin America; Thinking Out Loud (Pensar en Voz Alta, 1995), a Gandhian-inspired nonviolent action collective to analyze and publicize statistical information on the nature of social conflict in Mexico and promote nonviolent direct actions; and the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity (MPJD, 2011), along with poet Javier Sicilia and the families of dead and missing persons.  He has authored the book, Gandhi and Civil Disobedience: Mexico Today (2002).

Ameglio has decades of experience exploring the power of nonviolence to promote justice and peace.  He strategized with the MPJD to organize numerous mass actions against violent conflict in Mexico, including the “Silent Walk,” a march from Cuernavaca to Mexico City that concluded with more than 200,000 people hearing the testimony of survivors and victims whose suffering has largely been ignored.  Ameglio also worked with others from the MPJD to create the “Caravan of Consolation” and the “Caravan to the South.” All of these activities have tapped into what Ameglio refers to as “the moral reserve” of the Mexican people, the positive values and moral sensibilities that characterize Mexican culture.

About the El-Hibri Foundation

Founded in 2001, the El-Hibri Foundation is an American 501(c)(3) charitable foundation based in Washington, D.C. It seeks to build a better world by embracing two universally shared values of Islam—peace and respect for diversity—and it fulfills its mission through grants, programs and other activities.

Contact: Rev. Bud Heckman, +1-202-387-9500
Director of Outreach, El-Hibri Foundation
[email protected]