Mejuri is expanding its empowerment fund with new awards of excellence.
The nine-year-old luxury jewelry brand announced Monday the creation of a $50,000 scholarship fund to schools in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. The scholarship was launched under Mejuri’s Empowerment Fund and is also celebrating the milestone of exceeding $1 million in donations.
“We started looking at the most effective ways to create positive change that is truly connected to our brand values,” said Holly McHugh, Vice President of Sustainability and Social Impact at Mejuri. Ta. “Our CEO and founder Noura (Sakkija) has long dreamed of a foundation that would fund education to essentially remove the barriers that prevent individuals from making the life choices they want.”
The Mejuri Award of Excellence commits to donating $10,000 each to Central Saint Martins, Rhode Island School of Design, Savannah College of Art and Design, Ontario College of Art and Design, and Vancouver Community College. This scholarship benefits jewelry design students and provides additional support such as portfolio reviews, guest lectures, and mentoring.
“We want to ensure that our students, especially those who are serious about the creative industries, graduate with significantly less debt,” McHugh said. “They finish school with less debt and feel more in control of their lives because they support the next generation of artists in the jewelery industry, whether they are designers or people who take their craft seriously. We believe it is important for these creative people to be able to focus on their creative pursuits without worrying about financial stress.”
McHugh said Mejuri first launched the Empowerment Fund in 2020 to “highlight all the long-standing systemic inequalities.” The foundation focuses on supporting women and underrepresented communities by providing them with the resources they need to succeed. Since its inception, the foundation has partnered with organizations such as Design Thinking Africa, UNCF and Indspire.
Mejuri’s goal is to grow the endowment to $5 million by 2030, McHugh said.
