Lindenhurst Native Named L’Oreal Paris Women of Worth Honoree

LINDENHURST, NY — As a kid, Munz considered herself a “tomboy” and had little interest in fashion.

“I wore the same t-shirt and sweatpants every day, she said. “My family will back me up on that, because all they wanted me to do was not wear the same outfit.”

But today, her sense of fashion has definitely changed: Munz, of Lindenhurst, has been chosen as a 2021 L’Oreal Paris Women of Worth honoree.

Munz is the founder of The Fashion Foundation, a non-profit organization which sells donated designer products at a reduced price and distributes the funds toward New York schools.

L’Oreal Paris has selected 10 honorees for their 2021 Women of Worth competition. Each honoree receives a $20,000 grant for their organization. The public votes for one honoree to be chosen as a finalist. The final prize is an additional $25,000.

According to its website, the L’Oreal Paris Women of Worth competition recognizes “the
the philanthropic achievements of 10 non-profit leaders from across the nation who are making meaningful change addressing some of society’s most pressing issues.”

Munz told Patch that she credits Long Island for her introduction towards a career in fashion.

“I do feel like my career path and where I am now is because I had such a great head start, partly because of Long Island,” she said.

Munz said she had an “epiphany” in high school and her sense of style “flipped.” In her junior and senior years, she attended BOCES classes for half of the day in Dix Hills while a student at Lindenhurst High School.

“I was always a creative person”, she said. “We would learn how to sew and I learned how to do fashion merchandising.”

One of her most memorable moments was a BOCES field trip to a Long Island swimwear company. She later went on to intern there, and gained what she considers priceless hands-on experience.

“They put me in every department. From a super young age I was learning the fundamentals of the fashion industry,” she said. “I was 17 years old, sitting in on buying meetings with designers”

For her undergrad experience, Munz attended the Fashion Institute of Technology, with the intent to pursue a career as a buyer. But in her senior year, she had another life-defining moment.

“I was just seeing that we had an abundance of merchandise,” she said. “No matter what fashion office or fashion show room you go into, there is product everywhere. And oftentimes we just don't know what to do with it because there's so much. “

Munz went on to obtain her Masters in public administration at Baruch, to learn how to run a fashion non-profit.

“I was soaking in all the information in all of my classes because I was on a mission, “ she said.

Creating a non-profit was no easy task, she told Patch. Munz said she juggled going to school full-time while working at Bloomingdale’s in Roosevelt Field, all while running The Fashion Foundation out of her basement apartment.

“I think I deposited $5 into our bank account to start,” she said. “I started in late 2013, in a home office and a basement with one box and it took me a really long time to get the word out and build a social media.”

About one year after creating The Fashion Foundation, Munz made her first partnership with an elementary school in Harlem. It was there she realized schools’ needs for supplies.

“They had asked for things like crayons and paper and paint and like really basic art supplies,” she said. “Schools need these basic things. They need things that we think that they have, but they actually don't.”

Since then, The Fashion Foundation has supported at least 11 public schools and has impacted more than 15,000 students. It currently partners with more than 36 designer companies such as Rebecca Minkoff, Bloomingdale’s, Steve Madden, and The Sak.

Munz first learned about L’Oreal Paris’s Women of Worth competition when a partner suggested she apply. A few weeks after nominating herself, L’Oréal Paris announced she was in the top 25 finalists.

Munz told Patch she then went through an in-depth interview process and had to provide references.

A few weeks later, she got the call.

“ I remember starting to tear up because I’ve never gotten anything like this,” she said. “The recognition that comes with that, I knew at that moment that I was about to be on a L'Oreal journey of a lot of excitement.”

Munz said that the grant will greatly impact The Fashion Foundation because of its limited resources.

“We are a small charity. I think that's first and foremost,” she said. “When you have $20,000. It gives you a cushion in a sense of relief, for a second.”

And since she is the only paid employee and depends on volunteers, Munz takes on additional jobs to run the organization.

“I also do freelance marketing and social media for companies and nonprofits,” said Munz, who is also an adjunct professor at LIM. “I pay my bills in another way so that I can fulfill my dreams with The Fashion Foundation and kind of keep going.”

When the pandemic hit, Munz told Patch that The Fashion Foundation pivoted support to children living in shelters. According to The New York Times, more than 100,000 New York City public school students were homeless last year.

Now that schools have returned to in-person classes, Munz intends to fund larger projects that will make a long-lasting impact.

“We (previously) helped to create a school library in Brooklyn,” she said. “I think that's super special because those books and that library will be there not for a year, but for decades to come.”

Munz said that no matter who is chosen as a finalist, the real winners will always remain the schools and communities..

“If you go to our website and place an order or just shop for $20 or $10 like it's making a difference,” she said. “These little acts just make a big difference.”

Participants can vote for honorees once every day until November 30. To vote for Amanda Munz and The Fashion Foundation, click here.

To shop at The Fashion Foundation, click here.