Fashion Kate Spade New York Found a Touching Way to Honor Its Late Founder The company has been donating to mental health organizations for the past year. By Samantha Sutton Samantha Sutton Instagram Samantha is InStyle's senior fashion editor. She joined the brand in 2019 and oversees the site's fashion coverage, including trend reporting, fashion exclusives, celebrity style interviews, and Fashion Week coverage. InStyle's editorial guidelines Updated on June 5, 2019 @ 11:30AM Pin Share Tweet Email Photo: Boston Globe/Getty Images On June 5, 2018, designer Kate Spade was found unresponsive in hew New York apartment, having died by suicide at just 55 years old. The news of her sudden death rocked not only rocked the fashion industry but the world, and her namesake brand, Kate Spade New York, quickly responded by pledging $1 million to mental health organizations. A year later, it was announced that the company has fulfilled that promise. In a statement released on Wednesday, Kate Spade New York revealed that it would be completing its year of donations by giving $200,000 to The Jed Foundation, which partners with schools on mental health programs. It will also match any public donations made to JED up to the amount of $100,000, from now until July 12. Over the past few months, the company has made a handful of other contributions, including ones to the Crisis Text Line, Fountain House, and Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services. According to Kate Spade New York's Brand President and Chief Executive Officer, the completion of this initial $1 million does not mean the completion of the brand's mission. “Kate Spade brought so much beauty and joy into the world, and now more than ever, we are committed to carrying on her legacy,“ she said via press release. “Through our continued support of mental wellness organizations, we hope to encourage more conversation, education, and research around mental health to help those suffering.”