FOUNDER’S MESSAGE: HOW TO HELP OUR TURKISH BROTHERS AND SISTERS

Over the last few years, I had the chance to visit Turkey quite often and spent considerable time with many denim brothers and sisters. It’s been an incredible pleasure to get to know so many people and see the country.

I was in Kahramanmaraş in 2021 for a day and one of our company’s young members lived there until November after spending two months working at Kipas.

The night before the earthquake, I arrived in Istanbul. I don’t feel like a tourist in Turkey but like a friend.

There are no words to express the sadness I feel about the tragedy of these earthquakes but more than anything, I feel helpless and unsure what I can do to express support and pained hearts. I am sure many of you feel the same way.

In these circumstances, it’s hard to see the point of sending a newsletter. But we are a platform for our community and we want to use our voice to encourage everyone to do anything you can — even if it’s a little thing — to help those in need. With that in mind, we have put together this one-pager list of resources to assist our Turkish friends and colleagues, as well as their Syrian neighbors. We will continue to update this document with additional resources. — Andrew Olah

COMMUNITY VOICES
WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER

All of us at Kingpins are thinking about our friends and colleagues who have been affected by the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. In addition to the financial assistance that will be needed to recover, repair and rebuild, we want to make sure that our friends and colleagues know that they remain in our hearts and they will continue to be in our hearts even as the daily news of this terrible tragedy begins to recede. Think of it as emotional support for our denim community.

To help spread this message, we are launching Community Voices, a video project for members of the industry to send words of encouragement, hope and solidarity to those impacted by the earthquakes. If you would like to participate, please send a 1-minute video to RSVP@kingpinsshow.com. Our first video will air on Kingpins’ social channels next week. Please join us by sharing the word and growing this initiative to help show our support for our friends in Turkey and Syria.