May 17, 2017   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Levi Strauss Foundation Announces $1 Million to Protect Marginalized Communities

The Levi Strauss Foundation today announced it will give $1 million in grants to support organizations that protect the civil liberties of highly vulnerable communities across the United States and abroad, including immigrants, refugees, the transgender community and religious minorities. In today’s dynamic policy landscape, this move focuses the foundation’s impact on the most marginalized and underserved in communities touched by Levi Strauss & Co.

“Now more than ever, we need the business community to be a positive force for social change in this country and the world,” said Daniel Lee, executive director, Levi Strauss Foundation. “Discrimination and stigma are anathema to our core values. This belief comes from our founder Levi Strauss—who was an immigrant himself—and still rings true today. America is at its best when everyone is given the opportunity to pursue their fullest potential, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, nationality or religious preference.”

The Levi Strauss Foundation has been a strong supporter of these organizations for many years and saw a need to redouble its commitment as they are stepping up to lead. The $1 million funding will go towards education, advocacy, legal support and mobilization to protect the rights of the people in the most vulnerable communities.

“We live in a moment that only comes along once every few generations, where we are called to do more for each other and for progress,” said Ai-jen Poo, executive director of National Domestic Workers Alliance and co-director of Caring Across Generations, and one of the foundation’s grantees. “The Levi Strauss Foundation's grant is an example of the type of act of leadership needed to preserve and protect what we hold dear in our democracy, and engage the millions of people who want to do something positive, toward progress.”

Levi Strauss, the foundation’s namesake and founder of Levi Strauss & Co., was a German immigrant who migrated to the United States in 1853. Established in 1952 as the corporate foundation of Levi Strauss & Co., the Levi Strauss Foundation has a long-standing history of supporting the most pressing issues of the day. From raising standards for those who work in the apparel industry across the globe, to being one of the first corporate supporters of the global fight against HIV/AIDS, the foundation’s mission is to advance the human rights and well-being of underserved people touched by LS&Co.’s business.

Grant recipients are both national and international in scope and include organizations such as Define American, Live Free, the Transgender Law Center, United We Dream and the Council on American-Islamic Relations San Francisco. For more information and a full list of grantees, visit the Levi Strauss & Co. Unzipped blog.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

Levi Strauss & Co. is one of the world's largest brand-name apparel companies and a global leader in jeanswear. The company designs and markets jeans, casual wear and related accessories for men, women and children under the Levi's®, Dockers®, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co.™, and Denizen® brands. Its products are sold in more than 110 countries worldwide through a combination of chain retailers, department stores, online sites, and a global footprint of approximately 2,900 retail stores and shop-in-shops. Levi Strauss & Co.'s reported fiscal 2016 net revenues were $4.6 billion. For more information, go to http://levistrauss.com.