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The Direct Selling Women’s Alliance, the DSWA, has just announced the dates of their annual DSWA Celebration. This year’s event will take place April 17th through the 19th at the Westin in Los Angeles, California.

The event will feature over 20 self made millionaires from some of the world’s leading direct selling companies. The speakers will share with attendees what it takes to succeed and how they themselves persevered to achieve their goals. The attendees will get business tips, learn new strategies and get some great motivational tips as well as learn how to grow their already existing businesses.

The 20 small business millionaires speaking at the conference include representatives from companies such as Avon, Mary Kay, Neways and Pre-Paid Legal, just to name a few. The 3 day event will give all in attendance the chance to learn, network and share experiences with colleges.

Some of the topics that will be covered by this year’s speakers include

• Best Booking Practices
• Approaching Coach Excellence
• Build it Big with Recruiting
• Creative Meetings People Want to Attend
• Build it Big with Internet Marketing

For more info on the event, or to register to attend you can visit, http://www.dswacelebration2009.com

Popularity: 6% [?]

Amanda Bynes, international teen star, joined Mary Kay, Inc   to help kick off a national online campaign to encourage schools around the country to put in programs in schools teaching dating violence prevention.

The company along with Bynes will visit schools as well as promote an online petition to encourage lawmakers to make domestic violence prevention awareness mandatory in schools.

Bynes will work with Mary Kay, Inc and non-profit partner Break the Cycle to speak to young people about healthy relationships and how to prevent violence in a relationship. The first stop on their tour took place earlier in the week when Bynes visited the Oscar De La Hoya Animo Charter High School.

A recent report by the Family Violence Prevention Fund showed that a startling number of young people report being involved in a violent dating situation. Studies show that one in four eighth and ninth graders have been a part of a violent relationship. The Department of Justice confirmed that girls between 16 and 24 experience the highest rate of violence in relationships. These statistics alone show why it is important to educate all young people, boys and girls about domestic violence and how to prevent it.

“Amanda Bynes has joined Mary Kay and Break the Cycle to support our global philanthropic efforts to change the lives of women and children around the world,” said Rhonda Shasteen, chief marketing officer, Mary Kay Inc. “Domestic violence is a serious problem, and it’s not just among adults. As many as one in three teenagers will deal with physical, sexual, verbal or emotional abuse in a relationship. With Amanda Bynes’ support, we hope to generate awareness among teens and young adults about ways they can prevent teen dating violence.”

To become a part of the online campaign, and sign the petition, you can visit, www.enddatingviolence.com, The petition will be sent to lawmakers across the country to encourage them to make programs mandatory in schools. Currently only Texas and Rhode Island require domestic violence programs as part of the high school curriculum. Bynes became the first person to sign the petition.

Mary Kay Inc. has been a part of efforts to improve the lives of woman around the world for some time. In 2008 alone, the company will donate more than $1.5 million dollars from the sale of Beauty that Counts Crème Lipstick in Apple Berry to causes that change the lives of women and children around the world. Funds raised in the United States will go towards the Mary Ash Charitable Foundation and Break the Cycle.

Popularity: 5% [?]

The Direct Selling Association will be on hand this week to help the Today Show kick off their annual Toy Drive. The 15th Annual TODAY Show Holiday Toy Drive will be launched Monday November 24th at 8:30 AM. This will be the fifth year that the DSA has been a part of the annual drive.

The DSA will kick off the drive by presenting the direct selling industry’s donation live in Rockefeller Plaza. Thirty two direct selling companies have come together to donate products to the drive, the total donation coming in at over $9 million dollars in products. Seven of the DSA’s companies will be featured in spots on the TODAY show during the holiday season.

Items donated include books, clothing, toiletries and of course toys for children and families all across the United States. Over the past five years, DSA member companies have donated over $37 million dollars in cash, product and services to the Toy Drive.

This is a a brilliant move on the part of the DSA and the member companies that are a part of this. Given the economic times, network marketing companies are going to continue to thrive as more and more people seek additional forms of income.

The following direct selling companies donated products to this year’s Toy Drive:
4Life
Advocare
Amway
Arbonne
Avon Products, Inc
Blessings Unlimited
Butterfly Worldwide, LLC
Clever Container
Cookie Lee
Creative Memories
CUTCO
DeMarle at Home
DeTech
Essential Bodywear
Fifth Avenue Collection
The Happy Gardener
lia sophia
The Longaberger Company
Mary Kay Inc
National Companies
Nature’s Sunshine
Oxyfresh
The Pampered Chef
PartyLite Gifts
Purse Party, Inc
Shaklee Corporation
Signature HomeStyles
Southern Living at Home
The Southwestern Company
Stampin’ Up!
UDesign Jewelry
Vantel Pearls

Popularity: 13% [?]

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.

Popularity: 4% [?]