Seeking to improve the lives of women around the world, GODIVA announced the winners of The Lady GODIVA Initiative. Five organizations are being recognized for their contributions to women’s empowerment—becoming the inaugural class of award winners to receive grants from the Initiative established by the global leader of premium chocolate.
The five grant recipients, non-government organizations (NGOs) and non-profits, are from five different countries, representing five of GODIVA’s global markets – US, Canada, UK, Belgium, and China. The 2021 awardees are:
- Hot Bread Kitchen (US),
- Up With Women (Canada),
- #SheDIDIT (Belgium),
- China Women’s Development Foundation (China), and
- AVA: Against Violence and Abuse (UK).
The awardees were chosen based on their efforts to impact their local communities. Each are engaged in work that supports women—ranging from offering transformative careers in food, building a sustainable pathway out of poverty, or helping to eliminate gender-based violence and abuse. Through these organization’s efforts women around the world are being empowered to live more productive and fulfilling lives.
The Initiative aligns with GODIVA’s mission of opening people’s eyes to “a more wonderful world in the hope of crafting a better tomorrow” as described by Nurtac Ziyal Afridi, GODIVA’s chief executive officer.
“GODIVA’s commitment to supporting both local and global communities, and fostering a culture that champions diversity, equity, and inclusion, is at the heart of our brand,” said Ziyal Afridi. “We are honored to support these inspirational organizations that are taking important steps to empower women around the world. Our employees selected these recipients based on the noble efforts each organization has taken to improve the lives of women in their communities. They deserve to be recognized and acclaimed for their valuable contributions to society.”
Lady Godiva, the company’s namesake, is known for her famous equestrian mission to empower the people of her community—a mission that GODIVA follows to this day. GODIVA’s support for The Lady Godiva Initiative extends beyond monetary giving. It includes providing global visibility and engagement from the entire GODIVA community, helping these organizations fulfill their missions to champion women. Godiva asked its chocolatiers to nominate their favorite charitable organizations that embody the spirit of this heroine.
The U.S based 2021 Winner is New York City based Hot Bread Kitchen that has changed the lives of hundreds of women through the transformative power of careers in food. The organization helps women, immigrants, and people of color in the food industry—so they can achieve stable employment and opportunities for growth, helping them to succeed and thrive in the workforce
“We’re thrilled to have been selected as a grant winner of The Lady Godiva Initiative,” said Shaolee Sen, Board Member of Hot Bread Kitchen. “Given our focus on the food industry, GODIVA is a brand that all of us here have loved and admired. It makes it that much sweeter to know that this brand will help raise awareness of our organization and mission. The grant will be put to great use in reaching more people in need during a time when so many are struggling.”
Each organization will receive a $25,000 grant from GODIVA so they can continue their inspirational work for women’s empowerment around the world.
