A Window Between Worlds, Founder CATHY SALSER, Proves That Art Heals with Award-Winning Foundation

Nov. 12, 2012 - PRLog -- Cathy Salser is an artist, activist and the Founder of the nonprofit organization A Window Between Worlds. Cathy has dedicated the last 21 years to working with battered women and their children, offering art as a resource for healing and empowerment. A Window Between Worlds was founded in 1991 and its mission is to assist battered women and their children in crisis and in transition to reclaim themselves by using creative expression.  The demand for AWBW programs continues to increase, and thanks to Cathy’s vision, today reaches over 13,000 women and children annually.  AWBW is a source of growth for survivors touched by the program and for Salser who is the organization’s Executive Director.  Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has partnered with AWBW in their community project called: “I Can We Can.” Vice President Joe Biden honored Cathy Salser for her foundation work. A Window between Worlds’ is the only national nonprofit dedicated to using art to end domestic violence and AWBW partners with 232 shelters in 30 states and has served over 348,000 participants thus far. In addition, Cathy Salser is one of four National Presidential Scholars in the Visual Arts for which she was honored at the White House, is a recipient of Citizen of the Year Award from the National Association of Social Workers, a bank of America Local Hero, a prestigious Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund Award, Women’s Caucus for Art’s President’s Award for Art and Activism. To learn more go to: www.AWBW.com

A Window Between Worlds (AWBW) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to using art to help end domestic violence. Since 1991, AWBW has provided creative expression as a healing tool for over 74,000 battered women and their children in crisis shelters, transitional homes, and outreach centers throughout the United States.

By providing an environment that promotes healing, art workshops help women and children to develop a renewed sense of hope and possibility that profoundly impacts future decisions regarding the direction of their lives, their relationships, and how to stay safe. Art empowers survivors to transform how they view themselves, allowing them to see past the abusive messages they learned from their batterers and rebuild their self-confidence.

The AWBW Windows Program is available to any agency or organization seeking to implement art as healing tool for survivors of domestic violence. We invite you to learn more about our programs and to join us in using art to empower survivors and to break the silence surrounding domestic violence in our communities.

For further information on AWBW programs please call (310) 396-0317 or e-mail info@awbw.org.  A Window Between Worlds’ programs aim to:

• Make art available as a powerful resource for domestic violence survivors,
• Assist domestic violence agencies in creating vital, permanent art programs, and
• Leverage the impact of our work through collaboration.

Women’s Windows and Children's Windows programs empower domestic violence survivors to express their feelings, build their confidence, and rediscover their hopes and dreams for a better future.  Survivor's Art Circle workshops foster connections and support for domestic violence survivors who are outside the shelter setting.  Exhibits and Art Journals enable survivors to educate their communities, and help domestic violence organizations conduct outreach and build support for their programs.  Leadership training and program support provide the resources needed by partner agencies to implement and sustain a successful Windows Programs for the women and children they serve.

To learn more, listen to Debbi Dachinger as she interviews Cathy Salser on Dare to Dream radio, as it airs live www.Indie100.com or on podcast at: http://www.deborahdachinger.com/interview-archives. Debbi Dachinger’s Dare to Dream radio show is a syndicated, multi-award winning program, featured in news sources around the world. Dachinger is a bestselling author, keynote speaker and media personality.