Big Announcement in Jo's Memory on International Women's Day
For updates on our ongoing charitable efforts, please read about our ongoing charitable program here.
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Henkaa was founded on the basis of helping women to be confident and beautiful, no matter the situation.
So in recognition of International Women's Day and in honour of our late founder Jo, we're delighted to announce that for the entire month of March, we'll be donating 5% of dress sales to the Joanna Duong Chang Memorial Foundation, established earlier this year by Jo's husband Stan and their children with the support of the Toronto Foundation.
The mission of Jo's Foundation, complemented by the occasion of International Women’s Day, is to break down barriers preventing girls and women from reaching their full potential.
As a first step, the funds will establish the JDC Memorial Scholarship at the University of Waterloo for a female business major in the Math Faculty, Jo’s Alma Mater. To date, Jo has been the only woman to win the University of Waterloo's Faculty of Mathematics Young Achievement Award (2016). With women still underrepresented in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) programming, we feel it is important to support the success of young women in this field.
In addition to the scholarship, Jo's Foundation will support charities that:
- Empower women to be financially independent
- Support, educate, improve access and create community for girls and women in varying life stages to be self-confident, build supportive networks and improve their quality of life
- Provide opportunities to support entrepreneurial efforts, including access to training, professional development and mentorship
Henkaa is committed to giving back to our community, and we will further focus our efforts through Jo's Foundation, with 1% of sales donated to her foundation after this month.
Every dress purchase makes a difference.
And if you'd like to make a contribution directly to Jo's Foundation, please visit the donation page here.
To learn more, or share a fond memory of Jo, I welcome you to send me a personal note.
With gratitude,
Sonia Dong
Co-Owner & Managing Director
This blog was originally written by Sonia Dong.