The Family Place and Partners Card 2014 Co-chairs Lisa Bhattacharya, Andrea Cheek and Diana Hamilton recently announced local retail expert Shelle Sills will serve as honorary chair of the annual Partners Card shopping event, which will be held Friday, October 24 through Sunday, November 2, 2014. Each year, Partners Card, presented by Bank of Texas, offers an exciting opportunity to receive a 20 percent discount at more than 750 participating retail locations and restaurants while at the same time contributing to a worthwhile cause – family violence intervention and prevention. One hundred percent of the proceeds from card sales directly benefit The Family Place, Dallas’ longest-serving family violence agency.

For more than 35 years, Shelle has been an integral part of the retail industry in various capacities. She owned and operated The Gazebo, a popular women’s specialty store, for 18 years. In 1999, she joined Neiman Marcus as the vice president and visionary general manager of the historic downtown Dallas store, where dedicated her time to various groups seeking to revitalize and reinvent downtown Dallas. She currently works with Headington Companies and oversees business development and special projects.

One thing Shelle finds most important is giving back to the community. Her tireless efforts have supported many local charities, and she presently serves on the Board for Salvation Army DFW Metroplex Command, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and Camp Sweeney/ Southwest Diabetic Foundation, Inc. Shelle is also involved in numerous other charitable organizations including: Crystal Charity Ball, Cattle Baron’s Ball Advisory Board, Council for Life, City Square, SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts and JDRF’s Fund-A-Cure Research Luncheon, which she is co-chairing this fall.

“Shelle is truly the retail queen of Dallas, and we are thrilled to recognize her as our honorary chair,” said Paige Flink, executive director of The Family Place. “When we first had the idea of starting a shopping fundraiser in Dallas, Shelle was one of the first retailers we contacted to float the concept. Her valuable insight and recommendations more than 20 years ago helped us launch what is now one of the most highly anticipated shopping events each year. She has truly been a loyal supporter of the program, literally since day one.”

ABOUT PARTNERS CARD:

Partners Card has become one of the most popular shopping events in the Dallas Metroplex and the largest fundraiser for The Family Place. In 2013, Partners Card celebrated its 21st anniversary with over 750 participating retailers and restaurants and raised $1,150,884 for The Family Place. The community has helped raise more than $14 million through the Partners Card program since its inception.

Behind the sale of each $70 card is a woman and child who will have a safe place to rebuild their lives with the help of The Family Place. For the largest domestic violence service agency in the DFW Metroplex, this fundraiser represents only one tenth of what is needed to continue to provide shelter to victims of domestic violence. For more information about Partners Card and The Family Place, visit www.partnerscard.org, contact the Partners Card Hotline at (214) 443-7754 or email partnerscard@familyplace.org.

ABOUT THE FAMILY PLACE:

The Family Place was founded in 1978 with the mission to eliminate family violence. Since 1978 we have counseled more than 225,000 victims, provided lifesaving shelter to more

than 21,000 women, children and men, answered more than 550,000 hotline calls for help, and counseled more than 20,000 batterers. At The Family Place, through shelter, food, clothing, counseling, education and job training, victims of domestic violence learn to rebuild their lives. For more information, visit www.familyplace.org.