Old Navy Commits to Helping Kids Change the Conversation on the Playground

For over a decade, Old Navy, through its community platform ONward!, has partnered with Boys & Girls Clubs to shape a positive future for the next generation by providing young people with real-world skills, training and jobs. Today, both organizations are excited to announce a new effort focused on changing the conversation on the playground by promoting inclusion, encouraging acceptance and celebrating individuality among today’s youth. Research shows that kids who are surrounded by opportunities for positive encounters are less likely to engage in negative behavior.1 In honor of October being National Bullying Prevention Month, Old Navy’s design team will work with local Club members ages 8 to 12 years old to gain inspiration for a Boys & Girls Clubs ONward! Graphic Tee Collection, featuring statements about positivity and empowerment, to be sold during the 2019 Back to School season.

“We are living in a time when the clothes we wear are a public display of our values,” Sonia Syngal, President & CEO of Old Navy and Boys & Girls Clubs of America national board of governor member. “Fashion gives people power, and as one of the leading brands of graphic tees, I believe Old Navy has an ability - and a responsibility - to be the voice of our youth and help shape cultural conversation for the better. I’m excited to partner with Boys & Girls Clubs to design a collection of statement tees that give our country’s next generation of leaders a national platform to inspire good.”

Since its inception, Old Navy’s mission has been to provide fun, on-trend styles for the whole family, while also helping the world run right through its core values of inclusivity and diversity. Over the past five years, Old Navy’s kids’ design team has made marked shifts when it comes to graphic tees - moving from primarily featuring animal icons to incorporating words that support inclusion, positivity, and global unification (i.e “Our Future is Now,” “Nice is the New Cool” and “Strong girls make a strong world”). In honor of the fall capsule collection, the brand will donate $50,000 combined to Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada through its community platform ONward!.

About Old Navy’s ONward! Community Platform

Through its ONward! community program, Old Navy donated over $2 million to Boys & Girls Clubs in 2017 and is on track to match the investment in 2018. Old Navy’s ONward! program focuses on taking the next generation to the next level and turning learners into leaders. During back-to-school, Old Navy donated over $1.1 million to Boys & Girls Clubs from a mix of customer donations and corporate matching, benefiting the clubs’ tween leadership development program Torch Club. For Black Friday this year, Old Navy will anniversary last year’s Cozy Sock donation program, allowing customers to join the brand in giving back. Every pair of $1 Cozy Socks purchased in store on Black Friday will trigger a $1 donation to Boys & Girls Clubs, up to $1 million.

Earlier this year, Gap Inc. announced plans to significantly expand This Way Ahead, which provides youth from low-income communities with their first jobs, from 15 cities in 2017 to 53 cities globally. Through a new national partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America funded by Old Navy donations, This Way Ahead will be offered to club youth in 22 U.S. cities in 2018 and in 60 cities by the end of 2020, giving them a foot in the door for a bright future. Gap Inc. plans to hire five percent of all new entry-level store employees from the program by 2025.

1. Alberts, et al.2006; Bandy & Moore, 2009; Eccles & Gootman, 2002; Roth & Brooks-Gunn, 2000; Pittman, Irby, & Ferber, 2001; Pittman, 1999; Lerner, 2004; Lerner et al., 2012; Lerner & Lerner, 2013; Catalano, Berglund, Ryan, Lonczack, & Hawkins, 2004

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