Ashley Graham Collaborates With Quay To Donate $100,000 To Girls Inc.

Supermodel and entrepreneur, Ashley Graham, is partnering with Quay to donate $100,000 to Girls Inc. in honor of International Women’s Day. As the face of their spring campaign, the partnership is centered around self-expression and the notion that ‘confidence is Quay’—a tagline for the brand and an idea that Ashley lives by.

Graham was introduced to Girls Inc. at the beginning of her modeling career to help spread the message behind the organization. “We were approached by Girls Inc. to help get the word out on the street. We wanted to do something impactful for younger women because we weren’t just a bunch of pretty faces trying to be influential on the runway. We wanted to create real change. And that’s exactly what Girls Inc. does. They have mentorship programs that I’m involved in that help young girls learn how to be leaders within their own communities. That’s what’s great about my collaboration with Quay. We donated $100,000 to Girls Inc. specifically going to Girls and the community of New York and San Francisco,” explained Graham. 

The donation will go towards Girls Inc. work with schools and in communities to provide mentoring relationships, safe spaces, and evidence-based programming that are proven to help girls succeed. Through these programs, girls build the knowledge, skills, and confidence to lead change in their lives and affect change in the world. Part of the donation will also go towards the advancement of legislation and policies that increase opportunities for all girls.

Graham is passionate about instilling confidence in young women especially in the world of social media today. She praises her mother for instilling confidence that helped her navigate the modeling industry. “You know, it’s so interesting because in a way I wish social media was around when I was younger. I’m so glad that it wasn’t because there’s just so much bullying, hate, judgment and comparison, but on the other hand there’s a community where you can find yourself. You can find someone who looks like you, talks like you, acts like you or at least has similar interests. So, I didn’t have a community like that growing up in grew up in Texas, Atlanta, Arkansas, New Hampshire, and Nebraska,” explained Graham. I went to high school in Nebraska. I’m a big corn-fed girl, but at the end of the day, girls in high school didn’t look like me. Because I was a size 12 to 14 and 5’9. I am lucky that my mother was never judgmental about herself or her own body. She never said a peep about what she didn’t like about herself in front of me, which I think really was so instrumental in how I treat myself and how I talk to myself today.” 

Jodi Bricker, CEO of Quay, commends Graham for defining what it means to be a powerful woman today. “Ashley is the perfect partner and role model for our campaign celebrating women because she defines and exemplifies what it means to be a powerful woman today. Ashley is dynamic and authentic, unapologetically using her influence and modeling confidence to inspire others across every aspect of her life—as a mother, wife, activist, supermodel, and entrepreneur. Quay is all about self-expression, being bold, keeping it real, and bringing your best self. Ashley shows up confidently and expresses all sides of herself, while remaining relatable, authentic, and, most importantly, while lifting other women up.”  

Bricker hopes the Girls Inc. partnership will equip girls to navigate gender, social, economic barriers to grow up healthy, educated and independent throughout the US and Canada. “One of the focuses on the partnership will be in the Bay Area where we are headquartered. We’re also excited to partner with Girls Inc. of Alameda County to provide Quay sunglasses and blue light glasses to the girls in their program, host interns, virtual STEM workshops and virtual field trips to our office this year,” shared Bricker.