NEW YORK, NY - (June 1, 2004) - The Family Violence Prevention Fund, in cooperation with Joe Torre, Manager of the New York Yankees, Russell Simmons, Founder of Def Jam Records and CEO of Rush Communications, Paul Charron, Chairman and CEO of Liz Claiborne, and Ted Waitt, Founder and Chairman of Gateway, announced today a 20-day campaign leading up to Father's Day to engage men in a nationwide Founding Fathers program to end violence against women and children. .

On June 1st, in an event hosted by the John Houseman Theatre with introduction by Bronx District Attorney, Robert Johnson, the Founding Fathers will ask men across the country to sign the Founding Fathers Declaration and take a stand against violence so that this Fathers' Day, men nationwide will be committed to take the leadership in preventing violence by teaching their sons, nephews and young athletes, that violence is never an option with women and children. www.founding-fathers.org

Founding Fathers recognize that boys look to men as role models and will follow their lead on how to treat women. As a Founding Father, men have access to parenting and coaching resources specifically created to educate their boys against using violence and abuse. The impetus for the Founding Fathers Campaign came from a survey commissioned by the Waitt Family Foundation, which revealed that more than 50% of men said they know someone affected by violence, yet only 20% said they were willing to do something about it, because no one had asked them. With the commitment of Ted Waitt, the Chairman of the 2004 Founding Fathers Campaign, the effort has grown to include men from all sectors nationwide dedicated to changing this precedent.

Under the leadership of Paul Charron, CEO of Liz Claiborne the Founding Fathers campaign has also been brought to the workplace to increase awareness among employees about how they can both prevent violence and support victims among employees, who have previously kept this abuse hidden from managers and colleagues.

Charron, along with dozens of CEOs from companies such as TJX Corporation, Verizon Wireless, and Macy's West, has contacted colleagues across the country to ask them to implement the Founding Father's workplace campaign, which provides educational materials to employees on how fathers can act as role models, and how to talk to boys and young men about violence, bullying and relationship abuse.

Since 1991, Liz Claiborne Inc. has led the movement to combat domestic violence. The company has encouraged women and men to speak out on the issue of relationship violence through its award-winning public awareness and educational campaign. Now in its thirteenth year, the program-known by its tagline, "Love is Not Abuse"-has reached millions of Americans with targeted anti-abuse messages, and has been a catalyst for men and women, organizations and communities to speak out against violence.

The company also publishes a range of parenting materials to prevent violence and has implemented comprehensive internal policies to support victims and deal with any threats to women at work. The Founding Fathers Campaign has been successful in recruiting high profile individuals to garner national attention to the widespread prevalence of family violence. Role models to millions of young athletes and music lovers, Joe Torre and Russell Simmons use their celebrity to help young men understand that the aggression found in sports and hip hop music does not equate to strength.

Joe Torre has been a Founding Father since 2003. Motivated in this campaign by his personal childhood trauma with family violence, Torre has committed to recruiting other men to teach boys that violence is wrong and that men have the responsibility to take the lead in ending violence. In addition to being a Founding Father, Torre established the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation, which develops educational tools to end the cycle of domestic violence.

Russell Simmons has a long-standing commitment to the issue of teaching men and boys that violence against women and children is never an option. His leadership and influence, as a father, entrepreneur and a prominent figure in the hip-hop community, has helped share the messages of Founding Fathers with a broad and diverse community. Simmons has been a Founding Father since 2003. Simmons also contributes through his own social outreach initiatives, including the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation and the Hip Hop Action Network.