HERSHE HERSTORY
Kenadie Cobbin Richardson, founder & Executive Director of the HerShe Group, was first introduced to the harsh realities of the foster care system when she became acquainted with an emancipated foster youth during her college years. As the years progressed, Kenadie learned more and more about foster care and she watched this young lady deal with the realities of foster care and the circumstances of her life that put her there. Ultimately, this young woman's lack of support prevented her from graduating – another sad statistic that foster youth face. Only 1 out of 10 foster youth attend college, and only 1 out 100 actually graduate. After college, Kenadie began teaching in Japan and then in urban centers in the United States. The vast majority of her pupils were in foster care dealing with parents who were drug-addicted, incarcerated, and sexually and/or physically abusive. It is difficult to truly focus on reading your Shakespeare homework when at night you are suffering from a sexually abusive “uncle,” or the neglect of a drugged-addicted mother. Kenadie felt that there should have been a support system to help counteract and alleviate the ill effects of such horrible circumstances. Not finding such a system of support, she began creating empowerment programs for young women in California and then decided to establish the HerShe Group Foundation, Inc. in 2006.
Initial philanthropic investments in the HerShe Group came from Hilton Hotels, Inc., Dr. Dre/Aftermath Entertainment, Kirdis & Brian Postelle, Washington Mutual, Eve Ensler’s V-Day organization, the Hustia Foundation, Tuff Jew Productions, Eminem/Shady Records, Czar Entertainment, Los Angeles Chapter of the Links, Inc. and hundreds of individual donors.
Currently, the HerShe Group Foundation, Inc. is embarking on an ambitious plan to solidify and sustain the future of the organization through an aggressive fund development campaign. We want to serve MORE girls, MORE often, with MORE services. Building our capacity to serve is the next step in the life of the organization.
