Kent State announced Wednesday the awarding of three grants to the Office of Sexual and Relationship Violence and Support Services (SRVSS)

The grants —  to be put toward a campus wide awareness and prevention initiatives surrounding sexual harassment and assault, relationship violence and stalking, according to a university news release — total an estimated $450,000.

Each grant will be portioned out for specific initiatives on campus:

Over the next three years, the Violence Against Women Act Programs’ grant — totaling $300,000 — will be used to fund preventative education and awareness on campus.

SRVSS is beginning a new partnership with the Think About It program from CampusClarity, an online initiative to reduce and prevent sexual assault on college campuses by educating university communities.

The Ohio Department of Higher Education’s Changing Culture initiative is funding a second grant, where $15,000 will be portioned out to the university over the course of the next 18 months.  A “university-wide awareness campaign that focuses on the collective playing role in prevention and awareness,” the news release stated.

SRVSS is also beginning a collaboration with IdeaBase, student-run design agency within the College of Communication and Information that works in branding, video and advertising.

A remaining $135,000 is being allocated over the next year to raise awareness and response from the Victims of Crime Act.

“The Victims of Crime Act Grant was a renewal, which we received last January and then again in October,” said Jennifer O’Connel, director of the SRVSS Office, in the news release. “The grant is for support services for anyone who has been victimized by sexual assault and raising awareness on campus around sexual assault and the Office of Sexual and Relationship Violence and Support Services.”

Alex Delaney-Gesing is the managing editor, contact her at [email protected].