Henkaa Gives Back: It's More Than a Dress, It's a Movement
This blog is about Henkaa's community partnerships and donations. To learn more about our commitment to support and honour our late Founder Jo and her foundation with a donation of 1% of our sales, go here.
---
Henkaa has had the pleasure and privilege of working with some awesome organizations and we are always humbled by the depth and breadth of their work and the impact they're making.
We've focused the majority of our efforts in three main areas:
- Making an impact on the lives of women and girls
- Supporting newcomers and their families to Canada
- Diverting textile waste
Below are some highlights - we encourage you to check out these organizations and consider supporting them.
Thank you for supporting Henkaa because it's the Henkaanista community that makes this all possible.
---
Henkaa wearing Sakura Midi Convertible Dresses for CIBC Run for the Cure, Toronto, 2011
Henkaa Gives Back Through the Years
The Toronto Shoebox Project encourages members of the community to wrap a shoebox filled with necessities and gifts valued at $50 for women in need during the holidays. Since they began in 2011, they have gifted more than 130,000 shoeboxes valued at over 6.5 million dollars.
Our donation: Henkaa staff spend time together to create shoeboxes for donations. We wear our ugly holiday sweaters, sip on hot chocolate and have a friendly competition to see who brings their shoebox-wrapping A-game.
Henkaa's Sonia Dong & Julie Tu featured with New Circles on CP24 Breakfast
New Circles provide clothing, necessities and training to those living in poverty. They operate the largest clothing bank in Toronto under the name of GLOW (Gently Loved Outfits to Wear), with 20,000 visits annually. New Circles help many newcomers, as well as in-need families, get on their feet.
Our donation: Over the past six years Henkaa has donated new products and gently used garments so that disadvantaged youth can have the opportunity to attend prom. In the past, we have also acted as a drop off location for their formal wear collection drive.
#MakeTodayMatter - Inspiration Gala was a special event organized by Valerie Crabbe with TD Bank in 24 hours. The event was a special evening to empower foster girls.
Our Donation: Convertible dresses and accessories
Gowns for Girls is an organization that provides grads in grade eight and grade 12 free prom and graduation dresses. They accept donations of dresses, jewellery and shoes.
Our Donation: Convertible dresses and accessories to help graduates in need of formal wear to help them look and feel their best.
The YWCA helps women and girls “flee violence, secure housing, find jobs, establish their voices, enhance skills and develop confidence.” They also engage in systemic advocacy.
Our Donation: New undergarments and multiway bags for the Teen Mothers Program.
G Day is an annual event for tween girls ages 10 to 12 and their parents or supportive adults. It is a day that celebrates the transition between childhood and adolescence in these girls' lives. The day includes public speakers and confidence-boosting activities.
Our Donation: Henkaa was one of the sponsors for the event in 2018 and helped fill the swag bags for the youth; we also sponsored gifts for the volunteers and outfitted one of the key speakers Sarah Taylor.
Modern Mama Social helps plan events for moms so that they can meet other moms and local mompreneurs in the Greater Toronto Area, socialize and build a supportive community.
Our Donation: Raffle prizes and products for swag bags.
The Creative Zone accepts donations of supplies to “enhance and expand” classroom resources for teachers from the Peel District School Board, Kindergarten staff from the Dufferin Peel Catholic School Board and child care operators in Peel to use.
Our donation: Textile waste and product donations
The Mon Sheong Foundation helps raise money to support Chinese children, youth and senior citizens. Henkaa's late founder, Jo's family were Chinese refugees from Vietnam.
Our Donation: Henkaa has supported this foundation's annual Cathay Ball for numerous years with silent auction items and table prizes.
MAC (Ministry to Africans in Canada) Camps Gala is an annual fundraising event. The objective? To raise money to provide refugee or immigrant children a camp experience.
Our Donation: Silent auction items and table swag to support the event in 2018 and 2019.
If your charity or event is in need of donations or sponsorship, please reach out to Henkaa! We are always looking for new ways to give back.
This blog post was written by Sonia Dong