"I began to engage in the issue of domestic violence prevention almost 30 years ago," Rose Kirk begins. Kirk has worked in the telecommunications sector for approximately 25 years. As the President of the Verizon Foundation, she oversees a generous philanthropic budget that awards grants to non-profit organizations focusing on education and domestic violence prevention. Kirk also oversees its employee volunteerism program, which has placed almost 10,000 participants who have provided nearly 750,000 hours in volunteer work to about 8,100 organizations nationwide. But that’s only during regular business hours. Kirk has also sat on the Board of Directors for the National Domestic Violence Hotline for about five years. She currently serves as its chair, a position she has held for about two years. Reunion: What made you go into this field? Rose Kirk: The issue of domestic violence prevention became very real to me when I was 15 years old and witnessed my sister, a young bride of 22, being abused. I wasn’t sure what was happening, but I knew it was wrong, demeaning and something I would never accept as a natural part of any relationship. My crusade for change began then. Since, I have worked in the domestic violence prevention field in Arkansas, Alabama, Texas and New Jersey. I’ve trained members of speakers bureaus, sat on panels, served on boards, donated money, clothing and whatever other resources I could. Currently, I’m privileged to lead the Verizon Foundation, which includes domestic violence prevention as one of its signature causes. Reunion: What services and programs does the Verizon Foundation provide? Who are your clients and partners? RK: We provide grants, programmatic development, technology and employee resources for our domestic violence prevention efforts. The Verizon Foundation awards approximately $67 million a year to non-profit organizations across the country and abroad. We focus the majority of our giving in the areas of education and domestic violence prevention. In addition, the Foundation strongly supports the volunteer activities of Verizon’s employees, providing a grant of $750 to a non-profit when an employee volunteers 50 hours to the group in a calendar year. We also work closely with Verizon Wireless on the HopeLine from Verizon program, in which Verizon collects no-longer-used cell phones and accessories from any provider and uses those phones to support victims of domestic violence, either with grants funded through reselling the phones or by directly providing phones and free airtime to shelters. Since 2001, HopeLine from Verizon has awarded more than $10 million in grants and collected more than 8 million phones. We work closely with the National Network to End Domestic Violence, National Family Justice Center Alliance and Futures Without Violence [formerly the Family Violence Prevention Fund] in our domestic violence prevention efforts. Reunion: What do you find most challenging about this work? RK: There is so much that needs to be done, so many problems that need solutions. When we meet with our partners to discuss grants or partnership ideas, we’re often talking with people who have personally experienced domestic violence, and listening to first-person stories of the horrors of domestic abuse is so difficult. I’m always astounded to think that this abuse occurs so often in every community in our nation, across socioeconomic conditions. But to have the best opportunity to bring about lasting change, we are very precise in focusing our funding support. Unfortunately, that means we sometimes have to say no to very worthy programs, to these people who have experienced so many awful things. But our hope is that by strongly focusing on this issue, we can bring about substantial positive change, allowing us to move on to tackle the next item on the world’s to do list. Reunion: What are you most proud of and what have you found the most rewarding in this work? RK: I’m most proud of the collaborative efforts of the Verizon Foundation team and our many tremendous partners. This is tough work. There’s always more to be done. Ending domestic violence is not something that will happen immediately. It’s a long-term process that includes successes, and failures along the way. I’m proud of the effort we have shown and the progress we have made so far. The success of the documentary Telling Amy’s Story was immensely rewarding as well. The documentary was produced by Penn State Public Broadcasting and funded by the Verizon Foundation. It tells the story of one of our employees, Amy Homan McGee, a mother of two small children who was shot and killed by her husband.So far the documentary has aired on more than 300 public broadcasting stations across the country and has been used as a training tool on college campuses and by the U.S. Department of Justice. Knowing that we were able to help bring this story to light and spread its message to millions of people across the country has been incredibly rewarding. Reunion: How do you think this work has affected you personally? RK: It has in so many ways. Both my husband, Robert, and my 10-year-old son, Connor, are finding ways to get involved in domestic violence prevention. And everyday, my work is a tribute to the life of my sister, Benita. Reunion: Do you have regular self-care or wellness practice? RK: It’s multi-layered: eating well, working out, relaxing with a good book, sneaking in cat naps when I’m traveling from one engagement to another and staying connected to my family at all times. Robert and Connor shore me up. Reunion: At what point, if ever, did you realize the importance of self-care? RK: I subscribe to the airline mantra: put your oxygen mask on first. The minute I became a mom, I realized it wasn’t going to work in the household if I didn’t take care of me first. Reunion: As you mentioned, this work can be hard on people who do it. Has the Verizon Foundation established any mechanisms to deal with burnout and vicarious trauma or to nurture an environment that promotes self-care? RK: We’re a step removed from the advocates on the front lines working with victims of domestic violence every day to rebuild their lives. Because of that, we can’t really compare what we experience to what the advocates in the shelters or the courtrooms experience. However, we do believe it is very important to provide employees opportunities to take care of themselves, through on-site gyms and personal trainers, generous healthcare benefits, numerous wellness programs and by offering generous vacation time. Rose Kirk is the President of the Verizon Foundation and Chair of the Board of Directors for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.