Photo by Femke Tewari
Miami creative Rachael Russell Saiger came up with the perfect plan to blend fashion with philanthropy and put it into action in 2011, when she founded the nonprofit Style Saves.
“I grew up in Providence, Rhode Island, going to work with my grandmother at a shelter for domestic violence survivors,” Saiger says. “I really connected with the families on a personal level and [understood] how meaningful it was to them to have the essentials. As soon as I was able to figure out how to make it work, at 23, I started Style Saves.”
Spearheaded by Saiger, 38 (who, along with her husband, Michael, has a jewelry brand, Miansai), and vice president Isabela Rangel Grutman, 34 (a model, entrepreneur and fashion designer), Style Saves provides youth and their families with essential goods — new clothing, school uniforms and supplies, nutritious meals and mentorship — at no cost, to increase academic success.
“We actually manufacture and produce every item — backpacks, school supplies, pants, polo shirts, belts and sneakers — that we give to kids throughout South Florida,” Saiger says. “In addition to our Holiday Giveback and Mentorship Program, our signature Back to School fundraising event has grown into the largest in the country, with 15,000 kids getting essentials every August.”
This initiative is funded by money raised during the year through events, donors and sponsorships.
Style Saves runs its Mentorship Program each spring, providing high school juniors and seniors with professional development — résumé writing, interviewing techniques and networking tips — as well as scholarship opportunities and help with financial literacy and career exploration.
The organization works with contractors and hundreds of volunteers each year and partners with brands like Bottega Veneta and Stuart Weitzman, which host in-store shopping events and fundraisers at Bal Harbour Shops and Mana Wynwood Convention Center, among others.
Having the opportunity to watch Style Saves grow (it now serves approximately 25,000 families annually), bring the community together and share the experience with her four young children is what makes Saiger most proud. In the future, she hopes to add more items for each student and expand into new markets: “Los Angeles and New York are on our radar.”
For more information or to support Style Saves, visit stylesaves.org.