Forever 21 Goes Big

USA - English

• Latin America - español

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Forever 21 is giving customers an easy way to make a difference this holiday season.  Beginning November 11 the trend-setting retailer's top 250 stores will offer a Big Brothers Big Sisters charity t-shirt line where one dollar from each sale will benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters, giving customers a fashionable way to support the organization's proven mentoring programs.  

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111107/PH00690 )

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110613/PH17540LOGO )

Forever 21's Big Brothers Big Sisters line features five different t-shirts for men and women that range in price from $10-$18.  With bold graphics and wording such as "Go Big," "You HEART Me" and "Start Something," the t-shirts are sure to please all the fashionistas on your shopping list this holiday with the added bonus of contributing to Big Brothers Big Sisters.

"We are grateful for Forever 21's support and leadership in showing that there are many ways to start something for children to put them on the road to success.  Proceeds from each t-shirt sold will help Big Brothers Big Sisters provide the safe, strong, successful, long-term mentor matching and support services that produce positive outcomes that are unique to our programs," said Karen J. Mathis, president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.  

Ads featuring real Big Brothers Big Sisters mentor-mentee matches will appear in stores throughout the country.  As the faces of Forever 21's holiday charity line campaign, Mark Todd and his Little Brother Marvin, together with Naomi Rodriguez and her Little Sister Teresa, are inspiring others to support the mentoring programs that help kids who face adversity beat the odds simply by purchasing a t-shirt.  

"Forever 21 is thrilled to announce its collaboration with Big Brothers Big Sisters.  We feel that it is increasingly important to invest in the communities where our consumers are living, working and shopping; and to provide our customers the opportunity to give back as well," said Linda Chang, Senior Marketing Manager for Forever 21.  "We are honored to be involved with a charity who serves as such a bright light for youth."  

Todd and his Little Brother Marvin are matched through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles.  Todd says that he has seen his Little Brother mature throughout their nearly five year relationship and is looking most forward to seeing Marvin accomplish his goals and achieve success in life.

"The most rewarding thing for me is just watching my Little Brother Marvin...watching him grow and learn from his experiences," Todd said. "I have seen Marv grow from a shy, soft-spoken youngster to a confident, outgoing young man."

Naomi Rodriguez has also enjoyed seeing her Little Sister Teresa's confidence increase.  The two had an amazing time together modeling for Forever 21 but there was a time when Teresa may not have been as comfortable as the center of attention.  Teresa's mother came to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles to get a mentor for her daughter, hoping to help Teresa overcome her shyness and build her self-esteem.  The agency's professional staff matched Teresa with Rodriguez in October 2010.  Since then, with the help of her Big Sister and her Match Support Specialist Beatriz, Teresa has become more self confident and looking toward the future.

"The Big Brothers Big Sisters program has really helped me.  I felt alone before and now I don't because I have my Big Sister Naomi.  The support is good because Beatriz checks up on us and helps us and asks us how we are doing," said Little Sister Teresa.

Big Brothers Big Sisters relies on funding to carefully make more mentoring matches, like Mark and Marvin or Naomi and Teresa, and provide ongoing guidance to the volunteer mentors, mentees and their families so that the relationships yield positive results.   Big Brothers Big Sisters holds itself accountable for helping children achieve positive measurable outcomes including educational success, risky behavior avoidance, improved relationships, higher aspirations and greater confidence.

About Forever 21

Forever 21, Inc., headquartered in Los Angeles, is a specialty retailer of women's and men's clothing and accessories, known for offering the hottest and most current fashion trends at a great value to consumers. Forever 21's model of fast fashion works by keeping the store exciting with new merchandise brought in daily. The retailer operates over 480 stores in the United States, with international operations in Canada, Europe, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Philippines, and United Kingdom. For more information please visit: www.forever21.com.

About Big Brothers Big Sisters

For more than 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters has operated under the belief that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. As the nation's largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters' mission is to provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one relationships that change their lives for the better, forever.

Partnering with parents/guardians, schools, corporations and others in the community, Big Brothers Big Sisters carefully pairs children ("Littles") with screened volunteer mentors ("Bigs") and monitors and supports them in one-to-one mentoring matches throughout their course. The organization holds itself accountable for children in the program to achieve measurable outcomes, such as higher aspirations; greater confidence and better relationships; educational success; and avoidance of delinquency and other risky behaviors. Most children served by Big Brothers Big Sisters are in single-parent and low-income families or households where a parent is incarcerated. Headquartered in Philadelphia with a network of about 360 agencies across the country, Big Brothers Big Sisters serves nearly 630,000 children, volunteer mentors and families. Learn how you can positively impact a child's life, donate or volunteer at BigBrothersBigSisters.org.

SOURCE Big Brothers Big Sisters