WARRENDALE, Pa., Dec. 22, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- rue21, inc., a leading teen specialty apparel retailer, today announced its partnership with Together We Rise, a non-profit organization dedicated to transforming the way youth navigate through the foster care system in America. The collaboration is a new addition to rue21’s philanthropy initiative, rueGIVESback, dedicated to making a positive impact on the lives of its customers and associates. rue21 isn't just about helping its customers look good – rue21 also wants to do good by partnering with charitable organizations that fit its style and culture.
Together We Rise (TWR) is comprised of motivated young adults and former foster youth. Their vision is to improve the lives of foster children in America, who often find themselves forgotten and neglected by the public. They collaborate with community partners to bring resources to foster youth and use service-learning activities to educate volunteers on issues surrounding the foster care system.
Part of rue21 and TWR’s association includes shopping spree events for foster teens in California and Colorado. The teens are able to come into the store and shop for new clothing, donated by rue21, as well as engage with the associates to help them pick out the newest trends, leaving them feeling motivated and excited about their new looks.
“At rue21 we are dedicated to giving back to the communities and customers who have made us successful. We are thrilled to be able to collaborate with an organization like Together We Rise and help teens and young adults improve their lives,” said Bob Fisch, President and Chief Executive Officer of rue21.
This holiday season, rue21 associates participated in a number of initiatives for rueGIVESback. At its support center in Pittsburgh the Company held a toy drive for Toys for Tots, and a coat drive, “Coats for a Cause,” where associates donated nearly 500 coats to the homeless in Pittsburgh. The Company also sponsored a “Cheer for Charity” contest whereby the top performing stores this holiday season will be given the ability to make cash contributions to their favorite charities on behalf of rue21.
To learn more about rueGIVESback, visit www.rue21.com/csr.
About rue21
rue21, a leading teen specialty retailer, makes the latest trends affordable and available to anyone. The rue21 mission is to make fashion everyone’s playground. Headquartered just north of Pittsburgh, PA, it currently operates 1,188 stores in 48 states in shopping malls, outlets and strip centers, and on its website. For more information, visit www.rue21.com.
About Together We Rise
Together We Rise is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization comprised of motivated young adults and former foster youth. Our vision is to improve the lives of foster children in America, who often find themselves forgotten and neglected by the public. We collaborate with community partners to bring resources to foster youth and use service-learning activities to educate volunteers on issues surrounding the foster care system.
TWR works with hundreds of foster agencies, social workers, CASA advocates, and other partners to bring our programs to foster youth across the nation. Our foundation has allowed us to provide thousands of foster youth across the country with new bicycles, college supplies, and suitcases so that children do not have to travel from home to home with their belongings in a trash bag.