Senior Emily Spivack looks forward to working fulltime after graduation for the nonprofit organization she founded
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As the daughter of a four-time cancer survivor, Emily Spivack ’01 knows firsthand this approach can help patients feel better about themselves and aid in their recovery. That’s why she is launching Shop Well with You, a nonprofit organization that will match cancer patients with personal shoppers who are trained to be sensitive to the needs of cancer patients.
Since the age of 10, Spivack (left) has watched as her mother recovered from radiation treatment, chemotherapy, a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery, efforts that brought to light the everyday problems patients encounter.
"She didn’t have much energy," recalled Spivack, so she would help her mother find clothing that was easy to put on after surgery, or that didn’t irritate her healing body. Spivack said that when her mother looked good, "it improved the way she felt about herself and how others treated her. She was treated like she wasn’t sick."
Her mother’s style is "kinda funky and spunky" and the apple certainly did not fall far from the tree. Sporting a miniature teakettle charm around her neck, and her mom’s multi-colored legwarmers, Spivack has a unique look and a keen sense of fashion.
Fashion is "not about how expensive the clothes are.…I believe it’s an artform," she said.
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ashion was always a career aspiration for Spivack. She was thrilled to land an internship at the fashion house Betsy Johnson during the summer after her freshman year. Although the experience was positive, Spivack said she "walked away finding something was missing."She decided to take a year off to volunteer at Dress for Success, a nonprofit organization that provides low-income women with professional clothing to wear on job interviews. As the affiliate relations coordinator, Spivack planned the organization’s first national conference.
The experience taught her "there are ways to use clothing and fashion in productive ways to help people," and was the inspiration for Shop Well with You.
The idea of providing personal shoppers to cancer patients earned her a prize in the Entrepreneurship Program, where she pitched the concept to a panel of judges. Founded in 1998 under the auspices of the Department of Sociology, the student-run program teaches entrepreneurial skill to students looking to launch their own for-profit or nonprofit ventures.
"Her pitch was so compelling and so amazing. None of us could do enough for her," said Steve Massarsky ’70, president of Business Incubation Group (B.I.G.) and one of the judges of the contest. "I thought, ‘This is a great idea and it deserves to happen.’"
The two had met a semester earlier when Massarsky was a guest speaker in Professor Barrett Hazeltine’s "Management of Industrial and Nonprofit Organizations" class. Spivack remembers asking Massarsky why his incubation group didn’t help nonprofits. Massarsky admitted flat out "there’s no money in it."
But after hearing the proposal for Shop Well with You several months later, Massarsky enthusiastically offered Spivack the help of B.I.G., which includes office space in Manhattan and services such as marketing, strategic planning and financial advising.
"It’s funny how things come full circle," said Spivack.
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s fate would have it, she met Holli Rubin, who will graduate in May with a master’s degree in social work at New York University, through a contact at the incubation group. Rubin had pursued a career in the fashion industry but was disappointed, saying it was "lacking a lot of depth."Like Spivack, she wanted to find a way to combine her passion for helping people with her love of fashion. She too had witnessed the battle cancer patients must fight: Her best friend’s mother struggled with breast cancer.
She recalled how the physical changes affected the woman’s psyche: "We all know how important appearance is, especially when you’re vulnerable. If she couldn’t show herself to the world, then she felt it wasn’t worth it."
Rubin, whose studies focus on women’s issues and body issues, will lead the training program for volunteer shoppers. Patients from referring agencies will be paired with someone knowledgeable of their specific type of cancer.
Now the two are in contact daily, preparing to launch the pilot program this summer. They are creating alliances with department stores and fashion houses and are seeking donations from individuals, corporations and foundations.
Spivack admits this year has been challenging — between juggling her schoolwork and starting a business — but is excited to focus on Shop Well with You fulltime after graduation.
Contributions can go to Shop Well With You, 99 Hudson St., Suite 12R, New York, NY 10013, or, for more information, send e-mail.