This Black History Month, the brand is announcing a series of ongoing initiatives focused on celebrating, uplifting and supporting Black women, starting with featured stories from their lived experiences. New community actions include an accelerator program for social entrepreneurs; a series of adidas Community curriculum and mentoring opportunities; and an industry-changing design program for the next generation of creators Driven by its Impossible Is Nothing attitude, adidas is accelerating its mission to create real and lasting change for historically underserved communities.
In a continuation of the brand Nothing is impossible attitude, and its increased commitment to women, adidas is focusing its Black History Month initiatives on celebrating, encouraging and supporting Black Women in sport, fashion and innovation.
“Time and time again, we have seen black women rise above the records, the barriers, and the boundaries of their respective fields,” she explained. Jamira Burley, Director of Social Impact Projects for adidas in North America. “This month, adidas is focused on elevating these women’s stories and accelerating their creative and athletic journeys in tangible ways.”
Brought to life through athlete partners like Kahleah Copper, Erica Wheeler, Angel McCoughtry, Imani Dorsey, Kendra Harrison, and Sarah Nurse, This year’s Black History Month platform focuses on the representation of Black voices by highlighting the real-life experiences of Black athletes. Meanwhile, sustained community programming and action will offer Black female creators real opportunities for education, mentorship, and growth.
Among many long-term community initiatives creating more opportunities for Black girls and women, adidas is deepening its commitment with the following programs launching this month and beyond:
Cultivate & BLOOM (building legacies from movements) and adidas Accelerator As part of its commitment to creating equity and access for the community, and in partnership with Impact Hub and Blavity.org, adidas has created an accelerator program that aims to close the opportunity gap that exists for social entrepreneurs of color. This accelerator seeks to elevate, collaborate and fund social entrepreneurs to create change in their communities to address health, wealth and access. barriers to sport for black and Latino communities. The first cohort, launching this spring, will focus specifically on Black women entrepreneurs in Los Angeles, New York City and Atlanta. SEED (School of Experimental Education in Design) ProgramA strategic channel for welcoming new talent to the brand and the industry, SEED is a two-year program at the adidas Brooklyn Creator Farm in partnership with Pensole Academy. The class of 2022 will be comprised of BIPOC creators, with alumni from the inaugural class of 2020 moving on to duties at adidas headquarters.An alternative to college education for footwear design, the program draws on industry experts inside and outside the adidas brand to teach, mentor, and guide students in leadership and design skills as they work on real products that will hit the market. market.adidas Community Platform: adidas Community is a digital network for education, creative collaboration and growth opportunities that unites community members with community mentors. A sample of the classes launching this month: Crowdfunding decoded with Asha Grant: A course aimed at demystifying crowdfunding for black and brown entrepreneurs. To open her bookstore, Asha crowdfunded more than $80,000 on GoFundMe, during the pandemic no less. Now, she has developed a course that creates a space for aspiring entrepreneurs and educates them on the basics of crowdfunding, from available resources to tax information and social media marketing.Protect your Energy with Alli Simon: Developed with yoga and meditation facilitator Alli Simon, this course is an open invitation for each of us to return to ourselves and use meditation to reconnect with our bodies and emotions. By adopting these everyday tools and practices, we can learn to take better care of ourselves.Grassroots Leadership with ReeCee Hollans: An intimate perspective on how sport and community intersect, with insights shared by the Head of Grassroots for adidas Basketball and adidas Legacy: a high school basketball platform, currently in 30 schools in North America, created for underrepresented communities and designed to unite, empower and inspire. the next generation of creators. The legacy depends on the wisdom of the coaches, united in their goal to inspire young men and women, so they can lead their communities to a better future.
Also, adidas will continue to maintain its Honoring black excellence platform: a year-long initiative that celebrates the achievements of black people and black culture as a whole. Throughout the year, we will highlight honorees from different sports, offering a platform to give back and share their stories. We begin this month by celebrating and honoring our NCAA HBCU partners who have continued to invest in and build their communities. Learn more at adidas.com/hbe.
Other ongoing programs and partnerships include work with adidas legacythe Collective of black players, USA Soccer Foundation, by beyonce BeyGOOD Foundationby pharrell black ambition, united black university background scholarships, Blavity.org Growth Scholarship, appetite for change youth Programming, u of wood in association with Pensole and Iovine & Young Academy and Sound Labs – an initiative to encourage creative collaboration, innovation, and proactively support music programs in public schools that lack financial support. Stay tuned as more information and updates about these programs will be shared throughout the year.
During this month and every other month of the year, adidas is committed to uplifting and supporting Black history and excellence.
Source: www.thenewsmarket.com