Monday, June 23, 2003
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The nation's third fund-raising stamp, this one aimed at reducing family violence, will go on sale in November, the Postal Service said recently.
The Stop Family Violence stamp will cover the cost of a first-class stamp, but will sell for 45 cents, with the extra 8 cents going to programs that seek to reduce family violence.
The first fund-raising stamp, to combat Breast Cancer, went on sale in 1998 and has raised more than $20 million so far.
It will go off sale by the end of the year.
A Heroes of 2001 stamp also is on sale, raising money for programs to help the families of those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The money raised by the Stop Family Violence stamp will go to the Department of Health and Human Services.
By law, money from these special stamps, called semipostals, can only go to government programs, not private charities.
In 1999, in more than 790,000 crimes of intimate violence, women accounted for 85 percent of the victims, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Studies suggest children who witness domestic violence are more apt to develop physical and behavioral problems including depression, anxiety and violence toward peers. They also are more likely to attempt suicide, abuse alcohol or drugs or run away from home.
The stamp features artwork by a young girl who expresses the pain and sadness caused by domestic violence.