kate spade ny x Taraji P Henson
“For over a decade, we’ve been providing women and girls with access to mental health resources, globally advocating and using our platform to help destigmatize mental health issues. Yet it goes under-funded and under-resourced. With our social impact work, we aim to address a truer, fuller spectrum of a woman and girl’s joy,” says Liz Fraser, kate spade new york CEO and Brand President. “With a shared goal of destigmatizing the conversation around mental health and BLHF’S commitment to providing resources centered in cultural humility, we’re honored to continue our partnership with Taraji and the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation. Together, we believe that no matter where one is on their healing journey, connection, collaboration and community anchor us to our joy and how we choose to define it. And we’re just getting started.”
“At the outset of our partnership with kate spade new york, our hearts met in a place outside of our organizations. Our teams connected on a fundamental, human level. When approaching a topic as personal as mental health, we know this work cannot be done alone. We need partners who share our commitment and have first-hand lived experience, much like we do,” shared Taraji P. Henson, Award-Winning Actress, Activist and Co-Founder of the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation. “I’m proud to continue our partnership into 2024 and collaborate on a product capsule that will enable us to expand our reach and provide more women and girls with access to culturally specific mental health care. As the rates of isolation and loneliness continue to climb, the collection is meant to serve as a reminder that you are not alone. Whether we connect with our sister circles or ourselves, joy is our north star.”
The partnership between kate spade and BLHF began in 2022, when Henson joined the brand’s Social Impact Council, a collective of women’s empowerment and mental health leaders from around the globe. Brought together by a shared goal of destigmatizing the mental health conversation and providing access to culturally competent resources, both organizations believe in the power of joy, and the vital role that women and girls’ mental health plays in their lives and their empowerment journey.
The partnership between the two expanded in April 2023, when BLHF and kate spade teamed up to open the first-of-its-kind She Cares Wellness Pod at Alabama State University, creating more accessible mental health resources for women and girls on HBCU campuses. Continuing the She Care Wellness Pod program, BLHF and kate spade announced a second campus partnership at Hampton University in Virginia in 2023.