We’re Helping People Thrive
Building on our legacy of giving back, we’re uplifting our communities through our volunteer work, collaborating with changemakers, and partnering with nonprofits to scale best-in-class programs devoted to creating a better future for all.
The Saks Fifth Avenue Foundation
The Saks Fifth Avenue Foundation’s mission is to make mental health a priority in every community, especially those where support is most needed.
The need for mental health support has never been more urgent. In 2023, the United States Surgeon General released an advisory that called our current state of loneliness, isolation and lack of connection a public health crisis that has an even greater impact for marginalized individuals, including those from racially and ethnically diverse communities. This epidemic is reinforced by new data from the CDC, showing that nearly 1 in 3 high school students, and more than half of LGBTQ+ students, experience poor mental health. Additionally, 3 in 5 teen girls feel persistently sad or hopeless—the highest level reported over the past decade.*
*References: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Foundation partners with national and local nonprofit organizations that provide mental health resources and support to communities with unique mental health needs, such as youth, women, the LGBTQ+ community and communities of color.
The Saks Fifth Avenue Foundation Pillars
Increasing Awareness and Education
Foster conversations and support educational programs that break down the stigma of mental health issues.
Improving Access to Care
Increase the availability of resources to address mental health issues when and where they are needed most.
Building Protective Factors
Strengthen attitudes, behaviors and relationships that lay the groundwork for mental health.
The Saks Fifth Avenue Foundation’s progress since 2017:
*The Saks Fifth Avenue Foundation includes youth, women, communities of color and the LGBTQ+ community as populations with urgent mental health needs.
Reporting
Saks Serves Volunteer Program
Saks Serves' mission is to provide employees with opportunities to lend their time and talent to the communities where they live and work. The program contributes to a positive and inclusive employee experience where teams can make a meaningful collective impact—with an emphasis on supporting and uplifting underserved communities.
Since launching in 2021, Saks Serves has:
- Engaged 500+ volunteers
- Logged 1700+ volunteer hours
- Provided a value of nearly $40,000 through hours volunteered (Source)
Programs & Partners
A few highlights from our volunteering opportunities and partnerships:
Volunteers participated in the 9/11 Day National Meal Pack service project in New York City, supporting 9/11 Day’s mission to spread the observance of the September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance by packing millions of meals for people in need.
Volunteers helped support children of families who have experienced homelessness and live in transitional housing at Henry Street Settlement’s after-school program. Volunteers created Thanksgiving-themed crafts with elementary school students and filled tote bags with non-perishable food items for the children and their families.
Volunteers supported local birthing centers across Saks’ corporate and fulfillment center locations. Following a screening of Aftershock, a poignant documentary that highlights the inequality of healthcare for Black mothers, volunteers packed “healthier mom” birthing kits to donate to local birthing centers in underserved communities, including The Birthing Place in New York, Inner City Midwifery in Pennsylvania and Homeland Heart in Tennessee.
Recent Partners
Supporting the Next Generation of Fashion Talent
Saks’ community impact strategy includes programs that support the next generation of fashion talent by providing exposure, education, and equitable access to opportunities for success, mindfully including groups who have been historically underrepresented in the industry.
Saks leaders provide advising and consulting, and volunteer their expertise in merchandising, marketing, branding, finance, technology and operations to foster the participating brands’ success across the industry.