The Housewares Charity Foundation (HCF) will honor a trio of industry leaders for their philanthropic endeavors during its annual Housewares Cares Charity Gala, Monday, March 6 during The Inspired Home Show 2023 in Chicago. This year’s honorees are Daniel Leppo, executive vice president and GMM, Menswear, Kids, The Home Store and Cosmetics at Bloomingdale’s; William Endres, president of Select Brands; and Clea Shearer, co-founder, The Home Edit.
Leppo will receive the Humanitarian of the Year Award; Endres will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award; and Shearer will receive the Humanitarian of the Year Award.
Proceeds will benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), the HCF’s legacy charity, as well as the James Beard Foundation, Winning With Wyatt, which supports pediatric brain tumor research, and the V Foundation, which promotes victory over cancer. Since the first gala in 1998, HCF has raised more than $55 million and has been credited with donating more than $32 million to BCRF. Since 2000, HCF has funded 128 BCRF research projects.
Over the years, housewares-supported breast cancer advances have included:
- Identification of new therapeutic targets for aggressive triple-negative breast cancers.
- Devising strategies for redirecting the immune system to target breast cancer cells and prevent and treat metastasis.
- Validating new therapeutic targets to prevent metastatic breast cancer.
- Detecting BRCA mutations and predicting treatment response from tumor DNA collected by a blood draw.
The Honorees
Daniel Leppo is the executive vice president and general merchandising manager of Menswear, Kids, The Home Store and Cosmetics for Bloomingdale’s. Under his leadership, all four divisions have seen significant growth across the iconic retailer’s in-store and online channels. Since starting his career at Bloomingdale’s in 1994 as a part of the Executive Training Program, Leppo has always had an eye for “what’s next.” This skill has allowed him to anticipate customer demand and keep the Bloomingdale’s product assortment exciting and coveted. When not at Bloomingdale’s or in the kitchen, he can be found guest lecturing at his alma mater, Brown University, where he is inspiring young students pursuing a degree in Economics and Entrepreneurship.
Leppo is a steering committee member of North Star Relief Fund, which provides Macy’s colleagues with rapid, direct financial assistance in times of natural disasters and other catastrophic life events. He also is a leader of the “The Big Give Back,” an annual Macy’s Inc. corporate initiative that gives to those in need.
Celebrating his 53rd year in the housewares industry in 2023, William Endres is the founder and president of Select Brands Inc., a private, family-owned company established in 1998. Select Brands designs and develops small kitchen appliances in the heart of America, with a product portfolio that includes company-owned brands, licensed brands and private label brands. Prior to founding Select Brands, Endres served as senior vice president of sales and marketing and as a board member of The Rival Company. Based in Kansas City, Rival was both a domestic manufacturer and an importer of small electrical appliances. During his 22-year career at Rival, Endres held various positions within the sales and marketing departments, and the company acquired seven other businesses.
Endres began his housewares career in 1970 with Corning Glass, where he managed three different geographic areas over five years. Actively involved with the International Housewares Association, Endres has served on committees and the board of directors and is a former chairman of the Association.
Clea Shearer is co-founder The Home Edit, a full-service in-home organizing company and lifestyle brand she co-founded with Joanna Teplin in 2015. The goal in starting The Home Edit was to reinvent traditional organizing and merge it with design and interior styling for a specific and signature look that is now known across the globe. Since the company’s inception, the business has grown into more than 6 markets spanning the United States. Shearer and Templin are also the authors of two New York Times bestselling books, “The Home Edit” and “The Home Edit Life;” are the stars and executive producers of the Emmy-nominated Netflix show, “Get Organized with The Home Edit” and have a line of organizational products sold in over 31 countries. Hello Sunshine, a division of Candle Media, acquired The Home Edit in the spring of 2022.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Shearer has always loved to organize and has a keen eye for design, which led her to New York City where she studied at Parsons School of Design. In 2022, under the age of 40 and with no family history of breast cancer, Shearer was proactive after discovering a lump during a self-examination and decided to get screened for breast cancer. Thanks to her determination and willingness to advocate for her own health, she was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. Shearer went public with this news in hopes that by transparently sharing her journey (#CleaKicksCancer), she could help save the lives of other women. The Clea Shearer Breast Cancer Research Fund aims to raise awareness of the importance of early detection and accessible screening services for all women and propel research of the disease forward. It has partnered with the V Foundation to help increase cancer research.
To purchase tickets for the gala or for more information about the HCF, its honorees and its charities, please visit HousewaresCharity.org or contact Paul Murphy at 508.272.0717 or [email protected].
