New York-based luxury womenswear label SemSem is rising in solidarity with some of the world’s biggest fashion houses to provide support to those in the frontlines battling the Covid-19 pandemic. Supporting and investing in a community’s wellbeing, especially of women and children, have always been the driving mission of SemSem founder and creative director Abeer Al Otaiba. Every season, this Egyptian philanthropist and wife of the UAE ambassador to the United States partners with non-profit organizations around the world dedicated to various causes from gender equality and education to health and legal awareness.
In light of the ongoing global health crisis and the drastic impact it has especially had on her atelier’s homebase of New York, Al Otaiba is providing monetary donations to local non-profits and creating reusable protective face masks from the collections’ unused fabrics for medical frontliners in the American city. “We believe in the power of supporting our community and protecting all those who are on the front line every day,” shared Al Otaiba.
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SemSem will be giving a staggering AED 146,928 in aid with 100% of the amount going towards helping Covid-19 relief efforts. Half of the proceeds are earmarked for the Afya Foundation, which is partnering with the New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and distributing donated, unused medical supplies to vulnerable workers in healthcare facilities across the state, while the other half is supporting the New York-Presbyterian Patient Care Fund to purchase vital personal protective equipment, hire additional clinical staff, and assist with general patient care necessities.
In addition to funding local organizations, SemSem is also directly giving out cloth face masks to essential workers and their families as well as the general public in efforts to raise awareness about the importance of covering your face to protect yourself and those around you from spreading the virus. These one-of-a-kind masks reflect the brand’s most recent ready-to-wear designs and can be paired with SemSem’s latest celebrity-loved collections which have been worn by Blake Lively and Kourtney Kardashian to Taylor Swift. Those who wish to participate in the free mask giveaway can head to SemSem’s Instagram and check out the post’s caption for more details on how to win.
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