Following in the footsteps of L’Oréal and UNESCO, which are celebrating female leaders in a range of scientific industries with their Women in Science award and International Fellowships, GODIVA Chocolatier is presenting is debut project of this kind dubbed the Lady GODIVA Program to pay tribute to social advocates in communities across the globe. Chocolate has been associated with something nice and calming, which helps to overcome problems, making the life a bit brighter. The new program is seeking people who do the same to their communities and embody the Lady Godiva nature “through selflessness, generosity, leadership and the spirit of giving-back to the community, support the causes that matter to women, both globally and locally, and inspire others to give back as well.”
The brand is inviting those who are interested in the program to the www.ladygodivaprogram.com website, where they can nominate inspiring women, who are driving positive change in their communities (so far, this contest is open only to the legal US residents). Every season Godiva will name three regional honorees based on the number of votes they have collected, and grant $1,000 to each of them to support their work. In the end of the year, the brand will determine one overall winner from the 12 regional winners, and give her a $10,000 prize in addition to the one she has received before. The brand doesn’t’ say when it’s going to expand the contest to other countries, but it will definitely do it since the project is called “the company’s first global corporate philanthropy effort.”
Photo: GODIVA Chocolatier FEED 10 bags GODIVA feed 10 bags
GODIVA has also named Lauren Bush Lauren, Chief FEEDer and Co-Founder of FEED Projects, the first national Lady GODIVA Program Honoree. The chocolate brand has launched a line of artistic GODIVA ‘FEED 10’ tote bags ($25), created in Liberia, which will help the brand collect money to support the charity. Available just in time for Mother’s Day, each of these bags can ‘buy’ 10 school meals to children in African cocoa-sourcing countries. This philanthropic collaboration will be continued next year and see the new products, which will benefit communities in other regions, including the USA.