The footwear and apparel brand launched Vans Checkerboard Day in 2019 as a global initiative to champion the power of creative expression.
Vans announced this year that it will support 10 charities from around the world whose shared purpose is to use programmes focused on creativity as resources for coping with the stressors that impact mental health and well-being, by donating a collective $1m.
Each charity will receive $100,000 from The Vans Checkerboard Fund at Tides Foundation or via a direct donation from Vans to use towards their organisation’s mission to improve the mental health and well-being of youth across the globe through creativity.
This year’s recipients are: Campaign Against Living Miserably, The Wave Project, The Ben Raemers Foundation, Get Lit-Words Ignite, The Skatepark Project, Arte Por La Vida, Social Skate, Singapore Association for Mental Health, Buku Jalanan Chow Kit and World of Art Brut Culture.
“We’ve spent much of the year apart. And it's been tough. But despite the isolation, both physically and psychologically, we are and always will be a Vans Family, forever connected by creativity,” says Doug Palladini, Vans global brand president.
“A recent study by Complex showed that in the U.S. alone, half of today’s youth are more stressed and anxious now than before Covid-19 started. Through the power of creativity, our mission for Vans Checkerboard Day 2020 will be to show that smaller acts of expression can make a big impact on our personal and collective well-being.”
Leading up to 19 November, Vans will rally global fans to participate in a variety of digital brand initiatives focused on uplifting and driving awareness for the power of creative self-expression as a resource for mental health and well-being. This will include the #VansCheckerboardDay TikTok Challenge and the opportunity to hear directly from global brand ambassadors such as Tony Hawk, Anderson Paak, Yaya Zahir and others about how their own forms of creative self-expression have helped them.
Fans can continue to visit Vans.eu/checkerboardday for more updates.
