Miche’s Million: A Growing Company Plants HOPE at HCI

The HOPE Shells are available at Huntsman Cancer Institute’s gift shop and also online. Each sale generates a $5 donation in support of cancer research.

Miche, a designer handbag company with roots in South Jordan, Utah, makes thousands of handbags a year. No bag is more meaningful than the annual HOPE Shell, which is credited with changing company culture while changing lives.

In 2009, the age-old dilemma of transferring handbag contents was eliminated and a business began. Miche (pronounced mee-chee) bags start with a base—available in four sizes—that can be quickly and easily inserted into various outside shells. The innovative concept was a hit.

“Our company was thriving. We felt the need to give back,” says Miche CEO Corbin Church. This began the quest to make a difference. After losing his father to cancer, Church attended the annual Huntsman Cancer Foundation Gala.

“I learned Huntsman Cancer Foundation would use 100% of our contribution for cancer research at Huntsman Cancer Institute, and that made our decision simple,” Church says.

The original HOPE Shell black and white design incorporates cancer patients’ quotes and words of inspiration. “The designs convey the important message that each person in this battle matters,” Miche designer Jennie Platt says. “The fight against cancer is not about a disease. It’s about individual people—friends, family, and loved ones. It’s for them that we fight and will keep fighting.”

Just three years into the partnership, Miche’s donation total reached $1.4 million.

“We thank everyone at Miche for their enormous efforts in support of cancer research,” says Jon Huntsman Sr. “Miche is a company with a heart.”

The Miche Healing Garden, named in honor of the company's generous gift to Huntsman Cancer Institute, provides a beautiful and relaxing place for cancer patients and their loved ones.

Miche Bag HOPE Shell

Watch the "Hope Lives" video on the Miche Bag YouTube channel