The Candie’s Foundation is a non-profit organization that works to shape the way youth in America think about teen pregnancy and parenthood. We are an operating foundation rather than a grant-making foundation. The foundation develops and runs communication campaigns to raise awareness about, and motivate teens to prevent, teen pregnancy.
Each year, millions of teens are exposed to the foundation's messages, which encourage them to delay pregnancy and expose them to the realities of teen parenthood. Our approach is unique: all of our ads use celebrities that teens can relate to, in a style that speaks to teens on their own terms. We go beyond raising awareness; our goal is to influence teen culture.
A key to the success of our campaigns is sharing our content with organizations around the country that are doing community-level teen pregnancy prevention programs. This way we reach teens simultaneously at the macro level – pop culture around teen pregnancy and parenting – and the micro level – individual skills and behaviors.
Our campaigns are making a difference. Research has shown that teen girls who have been exposed to the foundation and its messages are more likely to view teen pregnancy and parenthood as stressful and negative, and they are more likely to be skeptical of the media's portrayal of teen pregnancy and parenting. They also think teens should wait longer to have sex than girls who are not aware of the foundation and its messages.
The foundation was launched in June 2001 by Neil Cole, head of the Candie's fashion brand.
