National recognition for Charlotte Non-profit exec for leadership and creating an environment where women can thrive.

Charlotte, NC -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/08/2014 -- Profiles in Diversity Journal named Sandra Guynes in their "Annual Women Worth Watching Awards" issue. Guynes is President and Founder of Pearls for Creative Healing a local nonprofit focused on helping survivors of domestic violence. The recognition was based on outstanding leadership and creating an organization with an environment where women can thrive.

Guynes founded Pearls for Creative Healing in 2012 and has since garnered local and national recognitions for her work implementing creative art programs to bring awareness for domestic violence and helping survivors heal.

About Women Worth Watching
Profiles in Diversity Journal implemented the Women Worth Watching awards in 2002 to highlight women of purpose and drive who represent diversity within their spheres of influence. Winners were selected based on nominations by their colleagues, peers, and mentors for their initiative and achievements.

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Every year Pearls for Creative Healing serves over 500 women who have been abused. Women experience a transformational journey through art workshops, seminars and photography programs geared at helping survivors heal from abuse and trauma. Pearls for Creative Healing is known for its End the Silence Photography Exhibit of local survivors, with over 4000 attendees in the southeast region. Thanks to a grant from The Arts and Science Council and the NC Arts Council the End the Silence Exhibit being held later this year at the McColl Center of Art and Innovation will continue on to it’s 3rd year.

Charlotte, NC -- (ReleaseWire) -- 07/22/2014 -- Pearls for Creative Healing has kicked off it's third year of capturing the stories of local survivors for it's End the Silence Exhibit held each October for domestic violence awareness month. Since 2012, Pearls for Creative Healing has helped victims of abused through its mission of healing through artistic expression. Pearls for Creative Healing is the only organization in Charlotte that specifically targets the healing effects of the arts for survivors of abuse and sexual assault.

Each year Pearls for Creative Healing hosts the End the Silence Exhibit a powerful event that features 20 survivors of domestic violence sharing their stories through portraits and narratives. The exhibit now in it's 3rd year travels the southeast region and beyond sharing the powerful stories of survivors and creating awareness about domestic violence. Thanks to a grant from the Arts and Science Council and NC Arts Council the End the Silence Exhibit will continue to create conversation and dialogue around the issues of violence against women. The grant will allow for artwork to be created, framed and showcased in an effort to create community conversation and awareness.

Resources from the grant also serve to provide three local photographers with the opportunity to participate in a photography workshop series. "Teaching the workshops allows us to show artists how they can use their work for social justice and as a catalyst for change" said Odell Guynes, Director of Photography and Co-Founder of the End the Silence Exhibit. "How powerful is to have a craft that can make a universal impact? The hardest part is trying to tell such a dynamic story in one portrait." The workshop series focuses on the art of storytelling and participating photographers are part of capturing each survivor's story for the sold out exhibit.

"We are very grateful to Arts and Science Council and that NC Arts Council for seeing the value in our programs for survivors of abuse," said Pearls for Creative Healing's Executive Director and Founder, Sandra Guynes. "Pearls for Creative Healing is the next step in the healing process for the women who are seeking a support group, need encouragement and/or empowerment. We empower women to build healthy relationships and find sanctuary in their creativity."

The End the Silence Exhibit will be held October 18th at the McColl Center for Arts and Innovation for more information visit www.pearlscharlotte.org/endthesilence

About Pearls for Creative Healing
Pearls for Creative Healing collaborates with professional teaching artists across all mediums to work in-depth with our program participants in a specific art form. Painting, dancing, culinary arts, drumming, etc. allow for the therapeutic benefits of art and offer these survivors the opportunity to explore their talents and dream about their future. For more information on Pearls for Creative Healing, visit: http://www.pearlscharlotte.org.

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Husband and wife photographers provide an outlet for healing and hope to survivors of domestic violence. Photography exhibit allows the community behind the scenes and into the secret places of domestic violence and allows survivors a way of letting go of past trauma.

Charlotte, NC -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/17/2014 -- The crime of domestic violence affects 1 in 4 women. Less than 3% seeking community resources due to stigma. What if we could change that stigma by sharing the stories of survivors? Sandra and Odell Guynes, photographers and domestic violence advocates, started the End the Silence Exhibit in 2012. The couple took their passion for photography and used it to create social change around the issue of domestic violence. The exhibit provides women an opportunity to share their stories through portraits to create awareness on the crime of domestic abuse. Sandra and Odell are President and Vice President respectively of Pearls for Creative Healing, a non profit dedicated to helping survivors of domestic violence heal through the use of art and art workshops.

"We wanted to create a community conversation around what domestic violence is and is not" says Sandra Guynes. "As a survivor I needed the community to understand I wasn't poor, uneducated or weak. I was in love with a man who became a different person, it takes time to find a way out of that."

Now in it's 3rd year the End the Silence Photography exhibit provides a glimpse inside the lives of domestic violence survivors and depicts the stories of the women who have made it out. Sandra, a survivor of domestic violence herself, wanted to provide women an opportunity to share their stories in hopes of empowering and encouraging others who are still in abusive relationships or hiding in silence.

"Participating in the exhibit allowed me a way to take off the mask finally," says Diane. A woman who after leaving her abuser went to a shelter. During her stay at the shelter her abuser found her and tried to break in through the window. Submissions for this year's exhibit are being accepted March 15th, 2014 and will end May 31st, 2014. Survivors can submit their stories for review from a selection panel in June 2014.

This year the Guynes' team will open the opportunity to eight local photographers. Providing training and mentorship in photography and storytelling technique as necessary to bring to life the images for the 3rd Annual End the Silence Exhibit which will take place October 18th, 2014 at 6:30pm at the McColl Center for the Arts.

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