National Latina Organization MANA and Cuban-American Los Angeles-based designer Robert Rodriguez have teamed with Nordstrom to design a limited-edition shirt that will be sold exclusively at the fashion specialty retailer from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. Proceeds from the $225 shirt will be donated to MANA.
The shirt, which will feature a draped silhouette, a black lace overlay, and feather embellishment on one shoulder, will sell for $225 - with all after-cost proceeds benefiting MANA's Hermanitas® program, which mentors and advocates for Latina adolescents. The limited-edition shirt will be available at 38 Nordstrom stores nationwide and online.“We are very grateful for the confidence Nordstrom has shown in our work with Latina youth and equally proud they are promoting the work of Robert Rodriguez, a Latino designer,” said Alma Morales Riojas, President and CEO of MANA. “When consumers go to Nordstrom and purchase Rodriguez’s limited-edition shirt they will be contributing to the futures of hundreds of young Latinas across the country.”
Nordstrom was also a key sponsor of MANA’s Hermanitas study, commenced for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The three-year study, which was evaluated by the National Hispanic Center of the California State University in San Marcos, monitored Latina girls ages 11 to 18 in six sites across the country. The study concluded that almost 100% of its participants stayed in school. The results, which were published in the Harvard Hispanic Policy Journal, also revealed the girls achieved better grades; better daily school attendance; improved reading and writing skills; greater confidence; self-esteem; and strongly continued to reject use of alcohol, tobacco and drugs. “Nordstrom helped us conduct and document the study which indicated with the right support systems the paradigm of high drop-out and teen pregnancy rates can become a thing of the past,” she added.