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Mary Kay Spokesperson, singer-songwriter, Jewel has just announced the cosmetic company’s second annual “A Kiss for Country” promotion. The announcement came Tuesday morning at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville Tennessee.

Jewel and Mary Kay were on hand last night in Nashville for the annual CMA awards. Mary Kay is the proud beauty sponsor of this year’s award show, and the company even gave a lucky winner an all expense paid trip to the event.

The Kiss for Country campaign helps raise money for the awareness and prevention of domestic violence around the United States. Over 60 artists participated in the campaign in which they kissed and signed special Mary Kay prints that will be auctioned off for charity.

For Jewel, the spokeswoman of the campaign, this is a cause near and dear to her heart. The singer, who once faced homelessness at 18, said, “I experienced firsthand the fear and vulnerability that a lot of women experience, especially in abusive relationships. … Domestic violence is a preventable problem — and it’s fixable.”

Among the more than 60 celebrities who kissed cards and wrote insprirational messages of hope were Jewel, Reba McEntire, George Strait and LeAnn Rimes.

The prints are now available through auction on uBid.com.  100% percent of the proceeds from the auction will go toward domestic violence prevention programs around the country.

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MLMRankings.com has just come out with their latest polls of top performing and top gaining MLM companies for the month of October.

If you’ve ever wondered how an MLM company does in comparison to some of its competitors in terms of popularity and inquiries, this is the most comprehensive site on the web to get that kind of information.

MLMRankings is also a great tool if you’re thinking about just starting on the industry. Information about top gainers is a great way to get some insight on some of the up-and-comers.

Among the top gainers for the month of October are NuSkin , Scentsy and Sene Gence International, a new cosmetics company.
On the list as top searched companies are many of the usual suspects, Avon , Tupperware, and Mary Kay.

We encourage you to take a look at the list, but also be aware that you must always do research before getting involved in any new business venture. There is a lot of great information on the web these days, our site included and it’s always best to obtain as much information as possible before beginning any new business venture.

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Forbes Magazine recently did an article discussing the top ways that you can earn a decent living at home / starting your own business for only $5000 or less in capital investment. Of course this article wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the Direct Selling Industry, which accounts for a significant amount of the at home work force.

The Forbes article discusses the merits of Direct Selling, an industry that does over $30 billion dollars worth of business in the US alone. There are over 14 million independent distributors across the United States who make good money working for one of hundreds of different direct sales companies.
Several of the companies discussed in this article include Mary Kay , Avon, and Home Interior and Gifts . The article discusses the cost of setting up the business, purchasing starter kits and the long term investment both in time and money that is required to make it work.

This is a great article to read if you’re thinking about starting up your own home business, especially one in the direct sales industry. There are some great tips and facts that will give you an idea of what might work for you.

As an aside, Mary Kay and Avon are two of the longest standing Direct Selling companies out there. They have a stellar reputation both in the cosmetic world and in the direct selling Industry, however Home Interiors and Gifts has had some issues recently with layoffs and bankruptcy issues. This was not mentioned in the article. This is not to say that the home décor company won’t come out of their problems with flying colors, but always make sure that you check out any at home business opportunity with a thorough online search including checking them out with the Better Business Bureau before giving your money to anyone.

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During these hard economic times, its great to see companies like Mary Kay helping those who need it most. Thanks to the Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation, founded by the founder of the Mary Kay Cosmetic Company, domestic violence shelters around the country will receive grants to help them help others.

The foundation will award grants totaling $3 million dollars to shelters in all 50 states and Washington DC, The Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The grants will be used to fund programs to curb domestic violence and to help keep shelter doors open during these tough economic times. Many of these shelters are seeing donation decline as people can not afford to be as charitable. Many shelters around the country are at risk of having to lay off staff or close down altogether.

“These grants from the Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation come at a critical time for shelters across the country,” said Sue Else, president of the National Network to End Domestic Violence. “Thousands of women come into shelters every day for help and hope for themselves and their children. These grants will help shelters across the country provide needed support for women who have suffered domestic abuse.”

A part of the $3 million dollars in grants will come from the recently announced Country Music partnership with Mary Kay, “kiss domestic violence goodbye.” $600,000 thousand dollars will be awarded to 31 shelters in the names of various country artists who will auction off autographed lip print “Kiss Cards.” As we told you a month ago, country and rock singer Jewel is spearheading the partnership.

“The Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation is a leader in supporting programs to help women survive violent relationships and re-establish their lives,” said Anne Crews, member of the MKACF Board of Directors and vice president of Mary Kay Inc. “Shelters need our help, especially now, because they are the front-line resource for battered women and their children, whose needs are great.”

Since the Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation was created almost 12 years ago, they have awarded almost $18 million dollars to shelter and programs to help those who have been affected by domestic violence.

Popularity: 7% [?]