Kate Spade New York to donate more than $1M to suicide prevention causes after founder’s death

Kate Spade New York announced on Wednesday that the company will be donating more than $1 million to suicide prevention causes following the death of its founder earlier this month. 

“In honor of our company founder, Kate Spade, our foundation is donating over $1 million to suicide prevention and mental health awareness causes, starting with $250,000 to the Crisis Text Line,” Kate Spade New York posted to Facebook on Wednesday.

From Wednesday until June 29, the company will also match $100,000 worth of donations made to the Crisis Text Line, a free 24/7 crisis support texting service.

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The fashion designer died of an apparent suicide earlier this month in her Manhattan apartment.

She founded the company with her husband Andy Spade in 1993 and opened the company’s first retail store in New York three years later. The brand now has more than 140 stores in U.S. and more than 175 worldwide. 

Kate Spade left her namesake company in 2007 to focus on raising her daughter. 

The company issued a statement after Spade’s death, saying the brand’s creator will be missed. 

“Kate has not been affiliated with the brand for more than a decade, she and her husband and creative partner, Andy, were the founders of our beloved brand. Kate will be dearly missed. Our thoughts are with Andy and the entire Spade family at this time,” a company spokeswoman said.

Her death came just days before Anthony Bourdain, CNN’s host of “Part Unknown,” also died in an apparent suicide while in France. 

Jason Wang, the owner of a New York City Chinese restaurant featured on Bourdain’s show, donated 100 percent of his profits for one day to the National Suicide Hotline.