Ashley Stewart Teams up with Susan G. Komen as 2019 Champion Partner

SECAUCUS, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Ashley Stewart®, the leading lifestyle and social commerce brand empowering women globally, is excited to announce a year-long partnership with Susan G. Komen®, the world’s largest and most impactful breast cancer organization. Ashley Stewart will stand as a Champion Partner alongside Susan G. Komen’s Champion Partner family of other blue chip brands.

Stronger together, the two female power-houses have teamed up in an effort to create a world without breast cancer. A particular focus of their collaboration will be Komen’s “Know Your Girls™” initiative, which, in partnership with the Ad Council, empowers African-American women to have ownership and understanding of their breast health. African-American women are 40% more likely to die from breast cancer relative to Caucasian women and that is unacceptable. Ashley Stewart’s goal is to help Susan G. Komen educate and inspire women to understand their risk for breast cancer and to take charge of their breast health by weaving in relevant information throughout its various campaigns in 2019.

In addition, the recently announced 2019 Finding Ashley Stewart brand ambassador search will now also include complimentary breast cancer information and education at each of this year’s six regional tour stops in Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, Hampton, Miami and Atlanta, as well as the digital tour beginning February 5 and the third annual Finale on September 14, 2019 at the historic Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, N.Y. With over a million votes entered in last year’s tour, Finding Ashley Stewart is no longer just a contest, but a movement of collective empowerment of the everyday woman.

To kick off the partnership, in February 2019, Ashley Stewart will be donating $1 to Susan G. Komen for each bra sold in stores or online from February 1 through February 28. In conjunction with the generous donations from its customers and various other fundraising promotions and initiatives throughout the year, including Finding Ashley Stewart, Ashley Stewart and its community base will donate at least $200,000 to Komen.

“Our partnership with Susan G. Komen at the Champion Partner level is purposeful,” said James Rhee, Chairman and CEO of Ashley Stewart. “We have created a unique community around the Ashley Stewart brand. Our Ashley Stewart College Tour educates and funds scholarships for the young leaders of tomorrow, while Finding Ashley Stewart recognizes the oftentimes unsung, everyday women leading households and neighborhoods. Our commitment to Susan G. Komen, and particularly the sub campaign of Know Your Girls and its focus on African American women, is another way in which we are working to have a broader, positive and sustainable impact.”

African-American women in the U.S. are more likely to be diagnosed younger, at later stages and with more aggressive forms of the disease, limiting their treatment options. According to a study conducted for Susan G. Komen and the Ad Council*, 92% of African-American women agree breast health is important, but only 25% have recently discussed breast health with their family, friends or colleagues. Moreover, only 17% have taken steps to understand their risk for breast cancer.

Regardless of race/ethnicity, age, disability, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, or education, together, Ashley Stewart and Susan G. Komen will offer information and tools throughout the year that can ultimately promote early detection and, when combined with effective treatment, save lives.

“We are so thrilled to have Ashley Stewart join our fight against breast cancer. This partnership will enable us to inspire women in neighborhoods across the country to take charge of their breast health. Through this partnership, we will be able to provide critical information and resources to women in need,” said Paula Schneider, CEO of Susan G. Komen. “With its highly engaged and diverse network of women employees and customers, not to mention its strong historical ties to African American communities throughout the United States, we could not think of a more influential or well-suited partner than Ashley Stewart to close the gap in breast cancer outcomes. Together, we will ensure that where a woman lives, what she looks like and how much money she has does not determine whether she lives.”

To learn more about your breast health, get screened, make lifestyle choices to reduce your breast cancer risk and be your own best advocate, visit AshleyStewart.com/Komen, komen.org/AshleyStewart or knowyourgirls.org. Make sure to follow @ByAshleyStewart, @KnowYourGirls and @SusanGKomen on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to share information about this groundbreaking program. #TrueDivasFight™

*According to a survey by the Ad Council and conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs in February-April 2018.

About Ashley Stewart

Ashley Stewart is a global fashion and lifestyle brand that has propelled itself to be on the vanguard of social commerce and purpose-driven business. Since its founding in 1991 in Brooklyn, New York, Ashley Stewart has always stood for uncompromising style, fashion, confidence & empowerment for the woman who flaunts her curves. Today, Ashley Stewart offers the hottest looks with 88 stores across the United States, a leading and global e-commerce presence at www.ashleystewart.com, a powerful social media presence @byashleystewart and a growing multimedia and events arm at AshleyTV. Every year, through the Finding Ashley Stewart Tour, Ashley Stewart traverses the country looking to recognize women who embody the ideals of the Ashley Stewart women: kindness, resilience, confidence, and community leadership. Through #ASGives, Ashley Stewart engages in programs such as the #AshleyCollegeTour to make long-term investments into the communities that have supported the brand for close to 30 years.

About Susan G. Komen

Susan G. Komen is the world’s largest breast cancer organization, funding more breast cancer research than any other nonprofit outside of the federal government while providing real-time help to those facing the disease. Komen has set a Bold Goal to reduce the current number of breast cancer deaths by 50 percent in the U.S. by 2026. Since its founding in 1982, Komen has funded more than $988 million in research and provided more than $2.2 billion in funding to screening, education, treatment and psychosocial support programs serving millions of people in more than 60 countries worldwide. Komen was founded by Nancy G. Brinker, who promised her sister, Susan G. Komen, that she would end the disease that claimed Suzy’s life. That promise has become Komen’s promise to all people facing breast cancer. Visit komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN. Connect with us on social at ww5.komen.org/social.

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