Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has made a five-year, $15 million commitment to SeriousFun Children’s Network, founded by Paul Newman.
SeriousFun is a global community of camps and programs where children with serious illnesses get to experience the magic of camp. Children attend camp for a weeklong session and can enjoy simply being a kid. Specially designed facilities and programs allow children, no matter what their medical condition, to experience the joy of camp, free of charge.
The network consists of 30 camps and programs worldwide, with locations in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Africa, Israel and the Caribbean.
A&F has been affiliated with SeriousFun since 2011 when the brand began a relationship with member camp Flying Horse Farms, which is located outside of Columbus, Ohio, near company headquarters. Over the past five years, company associates have volunteered more than 7,000 hours at Flying Horse Farms, where they have trained and served as camp counselors. They have also painted the “WellNest,” the camp’s medical center, to make it a more welcoming place for campers.
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“Our associates are passionate about this partnership, and our further commitment to SeriousFun will allow even more opportunities for them to get involved in camps throughout the world,” said Fran Horowitz, president and chief merchandising officer of A&F.
A&F, Abercrombie Kids and Hollister will launch camp-inspired T-shirt collections in stores and online starting this week. All sales from the merchandise will benefit SeriousFun Children’s Network. In addition, for the next month, customers can round up their purchase to the nearest dollar in all U.S. stores, and all donations will support SeriousFun.
Further, A&F has become the official apparel sponsor of SeriousFun camps. In 2015, the retailer donated 45,000 T-shirts for campers, volunteers and staff at 13 camps globally. As the official apparel sponsor, A&F seeks to donate more than $1.5 million in product annually.
A&F has pledged to raise $7.5 million and donate $7.5 million in goods and services over the next five years.
In addition, A&F will continue its volunteer camp counselor program. At least 50 associates a year will be screened and selected, then placed in weeklong camp sessions around the world.
The retailer’s annual large-scale philanthropic event, the A&F Challenge, which raised more than $1 million each year since 2001, will benefit SeriousFun in the next five years, and A&F plans to continue sponsoring the SeriousFun galas as it did in 2015.
“We are beyond appreciative of the support and resources the team at Abercrombie & Fitch has given to SeriousFun over the last several years, and we are excited to launch this long-term network-wide partnership,” said Mary Beth Powers, ceo of SeriousFun Network.