Creating Kindness and Philanthropy Through Clothing – Kendall Thompson

Kendall Thompson created her own clothing brand in light of the crushing effects of the coronavirus pandemic felt around the world. Through her talents, she has created something that not only looks cool but has a philanthropic cause attached. “I wanted to have a creative outlet for myself during quarantine, but I also wanted to find a way to give back after seeing so much tragedy going on in the world.” Kendall has donated to causes like the people who were affected in the middle east and some who are struggling right here in the Santa Clarita Valley. “After seeing how so many people were affected in the Beirut, Lebanon and Yemen crisis I had to do something, so I started donating 10 percent of my proceeds.” Kendall’s philanthropic heart answered the call again when she learned of a local Santa Clarita resident that was battling cancer. “I decided to donate more proceeds to a local boy from my high school who is suffering from leukemia.” Using her skills in design, she decided to honor him and his family by creating a mask. “[Last month] it was childhood cancer awareness month, so I made a mask in his honor, I wanted to spread awareness for him and his condition, while doing something on his behalf that gives back to his family.”
As a senior in high school, Kendall Thompson has already found a major passion in life. She enjoys the art of making and designing clothes and takes inspiration from past styles like Y2K and street wear. “I have a few collections but most of my items are tie-dyed, so I hand dye and heat press each item with custom colored vinyl, as for the designs I just draft designs or logos that I want. At first I used words or phrases like ‘princess’ and recently I started using my new logo on my items.” Kendall started with a vision and has turned that into a reality with the help of her supportive parents. “My dad is a businessman and has been giving me advice on the entrepreneur aspect of it all, he has helped me with analyzing finances and marketing.” To most people this might seem like very little work but for Kendall she knows how much it takes to build what she has created. “A lot of people do not realize, I had to setup my website, figure out taxes, marketing campaigns, it was all a new process for me…I have learned so many skills that…a real life entrepreneur would learn and this was the best part for me.” Recently, over 300 social media influencers applied to work with Kendall and show off her designs. “I have a lot of influencers that applied to be ambassadors for my brand, they came from all over and use outlets like Tik Tok, Twitter and Facebook to show off my designs.”
With senior year underway Kendall plans to use this experience as a stepping-stone into her next chapter. “I plan to go to college and major in business to become an entrepreneur, and hopefully my brand will continue, but I am looking forward to whatever the next step will be.”