On Wednesday, Thrive Causemetics announced a $100,000 donation to the University of Louisville to honor the life and legacy of Breonna Taylor. 

Taylor was fatally shot by police with a no-knock warrant while asleep in her Louisville, Kentucky, apartment in March 2020. The incident was a catalyst in the ongoing civil unrest that began later that year after the death of George Floyd. 

At the time of her death, Taylor was an emergency room technician at UofL Health, the University of Louisville health system. The 26-year-old had career aspirations of becoming a nurse.  

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The Breonna Taylor Memorial Scholarship Fund was created by the UofL health board members in the summer of 2020. It is a renewable scholarship that supports students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Preference is given to a student, who like Taylor was, is a Black female resident of Kentucky. 

“Like so many around the world, the employees and customers of Thrive Causemetics were heartbroken and horrified by the tragic death of Breonna Taylor, and the injustice that was served in her killing,” Thrive Causemetics founder and CEO Karissa Bodnar said in a statement. 

“As a way to turn pain into purpose, our team went to work to find ways that we could help keep her legacy alive. While our hearts ache for the beautiful life that was lost, we are comforted to know that Breonna’s legacy will live on in the hearts of the beneficiaries who receive this scholarship, as well as the lives those individuals change.” 

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Bodnar founded the company after losing her close friend to cancer. Within her company’s mission, she included an aspect of philanthropy by using a portion of every purchased product as a donation to help women achieve their dreams.  

In addition to the $100,000 endowment, Thrive Causemetics has also donated an additional $3,000 toward an immediate-use scholarship in honor of Breonna Taylor.  

The immediate-use scholarship was given to University of Louisville freshman Kaelyn Goatley, who plans to become a labor and delivery nurse after she graduates. 

Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, expressed her gratitude for the contribution through attorney Sam Aguiar: 

“Our family is amazed by this contribution. The women in our family are all in health care, and Thrive Causemetics is bringing smiles to our faces and tears to our eyes, because this will pave the way for so many others to live Breonna’s dream of working in the medical field.”