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HSNi CEO's Seeing Children's Plight First Hand 'Emboldened' Effort

This article is more than 8 years old.

HSNi's efforts to support needy children around the world through its partnership with the U.S. Fund for UNICEF provide lessons for social entrepreneurs seeking to have impact at scale.

[Jump to page 2 to watch the live interview 11/24/15 at 5:00 Eastern.]

HSNi CEO Mindy Grossman provides some background for its partnership, saying, "HSNi Cares was established in 2010 with a mission to empower women and support children and families in need locally, nationally and globally. All children, regardless of their income, ethnicity or geography have the right to be protected and be given the opportunity to reach their full potential which is why our global HSNi Cares partner is the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. UNICEF does whatever it takes to save and protect the world’s most vulnerable children. Through our partnership we raise both critical funds and awareness."

For Grossman, the cause is personal. She says, "I joined the national board for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF in 2012 and over the past three years have had the opportunity to see UNICEF’s work firsthand both in Senegal in 2012 and Guatemala in 2015. Exposure to the challenges children face around the world has emboldened me to do more to support the organization and have even greater impact. "

She now serves as the Vice Chair of the National board of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. "Through HSNi Cares, we have recently concluded our third annual awareness and fundraising campaign for the U.S. Fund," she adds. "I’m so proud to be able to use my platform as CEO to make such a meaningful impact."

She notes that in 2015, all eight HSNi brands supported the campaign, bringing the total raised since 2013 to over $2 million.

She goes on to say, "Recently we held our 3rd annual HSN Cares Primetime Special for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF and joined forces with Star Wars to bring customers fun, relevant product while raising awareness for the organization. Their generosity during this campaign will help provide medicine, nutrition, clean water, education and more to children around the world. In addition to financial contributions, we leveraged our platform to purposefully shine a spotlight on a global crisis. Generating both understanding and awareness is a critical element in creating meaningful long term impact."

Grossman will receive the "Spirit of Compassion Award" at UNICEF's Snowflake Ball on December 1, 2015.

Social entrepreneurs will note the importance of personal passion and commitment to a cause as a key take away from the HSNi social impact efforts.

On Tuesday, November 24, 2015 at 5:00 Eastern, Grossman will join me for a live discussion about the partnership with the U.S. Fund for UNICEF and its impact. Tune in here then to watch the interview live. Post questions in the comments below or tweet questions before the interview to @devindthorpe.

You can download an audio podcast here or subscribe via iTunes.

More about HSNi:

Twitter : @HSN

HSN, Inc. (Nasdaq:HSNI) is a $4 billion interactive multichannel retailer with strong direct-to-consumer expertise among its two operating segments, HSN and Cornerstone. HSNi offers innovative, differentiated retail experiences on TV, online, via mobile devices, in catalogs, and in brick and mortar stores. HSN, a leading interactive multichannel retailer which offers a curated assortment of exclusive products combined with top brand names, now reaches 95 million homes (24 hours a day, seven days a week, live 364 days a year). HSN.com offers a differentiated digital experience by leveraging content, community and commerce. In addition to its existing media platforms, HSN is the industry leader in transactional innovation, including services such as HSN Shop by Remote®, the only service of its kind in the U.S., the HSN Shopping App for mobile handheld devices and HSN on Demand®. Cornerstone comprises leading home and apparel lifestyle brands including Ballard Designs®, Chasing Fireflies®, Frontgate®, Garnet Hill®, Grandin Road®, Improvements® and TravelSmith®. Cornerstone distributes approximately 325 million catalogs annually, operates seven separate digital sales sites and operates 11 retail and outlet stores.

Grossman's bio:

Twitter: @mindygrossman

Mindy Grossman is the CEO of HSNi a $4 billion direct-to-consumer retail portfolio that includes live content retailer HSN and the Cornerstone portfolio of home and family lifestyle brands. Mindy joined IAC, HSNi’s former parent company, in 2006 as CEO of IAC Retail. In 2008 she took the company public. During her tenure she has positioned HSNi as a leader in boundaryless retail, offering customers a seamless shopping experience across – television, catalogue, online and mobile. Today nearly half of the company’s revenue is generated through digital commerce. With nearly four decades of experience at some of the world’s most iconic brands including; Tommy Hilfiger, Polo Ralph Lauren Company and Nike , Mindy is known as a transformational leader. She has been named one of Fortune magazine’s “Top Persons in Business,” Forbes’ “Top 100 Most Powerful Women,” and Fast Company’s “Top 100 Most Creative People in Business.” Mindy serves on the boards of the National Retail Federation, Bloomin’ Brands and the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.