A monthly roundup of footwear brands and retailers that are participating in charitable causes. Share your news with us at [email protected].

Dec. 12, 2022: Christmas came early last Friday for nearly 350 Park Avenue Elementary students when Nashville-based Genesco Inc. brought its “Cold Feet, Warm Shoes” signature community shoe fitting to the school and spread a little holiday cheer.  As part of the event, more than 225 employee volunteers set up a mock shoe store and fit students with new shoes, socks and hats. During the shoe fitting, the Nashville students were able to meet and walk the red carpet with Tennessee Titans cheerleaders and the Titans team mascot, T-Rac.  Students also received a healthy snack. In addition to the fitting, Genesco donated an extra 100 pairs of shoes to the school’s resource closet. After a two-year pandemic pause, Genesco employees eagerly prepared for this year’s signature event with hundreds of employees volunteering in roles ranging from product planning, stockroom coordination, logistics, and day of “boots on the ground” support. Employees volunteer from all areas of the company from senior management to divisional teams including its Journeys, Journeys Kidz, Johnston & Murphy and Genesco Licensed Brands divisions.

Dec. 8, 2022: Koolaburra by Ugg is stepping into the holiday season by giving back. The sister brand to Ugg has partnered with Soles4Souls to provide new shoes to children in need. Until Dec. 31, for every pair of women’s Koola Short boots sold on its website, Koolaburra will donate $10 to the organization — up to a maximum guaranteed donation of $40,000. The funds raised will directly benefit Soles4Souls’ 4EveryKid program, which provides children with new athletic shoes. “This holiday season, we’re excited to help bring awarness to Soles4Soul’s mission of bringing shoes to families in need,” said Anne Spangenberg, president of Fashion Lifestyle Group at Deckers Brands, in a statement. “Koolaburra® is made with family in mind, and we’re honored that our support will directly benefit Soles4Souls’s 4EveryKid program which provides new shoes to children across the U.S. who are without shelter.”

Dec. 8, 2022: The Athlete’s Foot joined forces with Team Roc, Roc Nation’s philanthropic and social justice division, to support and raise awareness about food insecurity during the Thanksgiving holiday season. Throughout the month of November, donors, family and community members visited select The Athlete’s Foot stores in Chicago, Raleigh-Durham, New Orleans, and Atlanta to drop-off donations and to meet hometown talent Ambré, Skyy Clark, Dain Dainja, Dixson, and Reuben Vincent. The Athlete’s Foot and Team Roc kicked off the campaign by providing 200,000 meals to support Feeding America. By the last event, an additional 54,000 meals were donated to local food banks.

Dec. 5, 2022: Renowned shoe designer Alexandre Birman teamed up Istituto Marangoni’s Miami campus on a mentorship program for students. Over the course of a year, the students received guidance from Birman and a deeper understanding of the design, development, construction, and manufacturing of footwear. Six students participated in the program and had their designs produced at the brand’s factory in Brazil. On Dec. 2, 2022, six pairs of shoes, designed by the students, were unveiled at a special program at the school. During the event, a video presenting the development and production of each shoe was shown to the students and guests. Birman passionately spoke about the decision-making process for each project, solutions, and adaptations for the footwear market. He also provided valuable guidance to each individual student. “The future of fashion and footwear is with these highly talented students. It’s an honor to be working with them,” said Birman, founder of the eponymous brand and CEO of Arezzo&Co Group. “Hosting the finale of the mentorship program during Art Basel Miami highlights how art, culture, and fashion are essential to new ideas.”

Nov. 30, 2022: Snipes has launched a new initiative, dubbed We All Eat, which the retailer said is aimed at tackling the problem of food deserts throughout the United States. For the initiative, Snipes said it will team up with local organizations to “provide capital support, operational manpower and innovation solutions to address the lack of healthy food options in communities throughout the country.” Snipes said it has partnered with Dion’s Chicago Dream and CookUnity as part of We All Eat to provide fresh produce and nutritious meals to those in need. With Dion’s Chicago Dream, Snipes said it will combat food insecurity in 24 Chicago neighborhoods with a goal of feeding 10,000 residents each week. The first iteration of the partnership, Snipes explained, will run every week for three months and a week’s worth of produce will be provided to households every week. As far as CookUnity, Snipes said the partnership will have the two providing nutritious, chef-inspired meals created by Alta Calidad, Alta Calidad Taqueria and Otra Vez owner Ahktar Nawab meals to people in need around the U.S. This partnership will run for three months in this first round, Snipes said, and will see 600 meals per week delivered to residents in Newark, N.J., Atlanta and Brooklyn, N.Y. To bolster the effort, the two have partnered with a trio of civic organizations: C.H.O.I.C.E.S. in Atlanta, The Apostle’s House in Newark and YWCA in Brooklyn.

Nov. 29, 2022: BOBS from Skechers, the philanthropic collection from The Comfort Technology Company, and national nonprofit, Petco Love, announced an initiative supporting the hardworking employees at animal welfare organizations nationwide who put their best foot forward for pets in need. The long-time partners are celebrating the holiday season by gifting 1,000 pairs of BOBS footwear to shelter employees from Petco Love’s extensive network to acknowledge their part in stepping up to help pets find their forever homes. The 15 recipient organizations include dedicated sheltering staff who have gone the extra mile this year to support shelter animals, including three organizations in Southwest Florida who have saved many pet lives following the devastation of Hurricane Ian.

Nov. 29, 2022: With Giving Tuesday here, Hoka announced that it will be donating $30,000 to Achilles International, a nonprofit dedicated to helping those people with disabilities through athletic activities and social connections. Hoka revealed it had selected Achilles International as its new nonprofit partner in June. Also, the running footwear brand stated it will release its latest “Humans of Hoka” film starring Francesco Magisano, who works with the nonprofit. The video, Hoka said, “chronicles his personal story and how the Achilles and movement plays a pivotal role in his life.”

Nov. 29, 2022: Delivering Good has received a $100,000 grant from the Aerie Real Foundation this Giving Tuesday. According to the organization, the grant will enable Delivering Good to distribute more than $1 million of merchandise donated by retailers and manufacturers through its nationwide network of community partners. What’s more, American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) Inc.’s slow-fashion brand, Unsubscribed, will also donate 25% of Giving Tuesday sales to Delivering Good. Since 2019, AEO, its brands and customers have donated more than $1.1 million to Delivering Good, in addition to merchandise to support homeless and underprivileged youth. The latest grant from the Aerie Real Foundation builds on AEO’s long history of supporting the organization’s mission and follows Aerie’s recent donation of more than 150 cartons (13 pallets) of new merchandise to the nonprofit.

Nov. 22, 2022: Famous Footwear, Crocs and the Ticket to Dream Foundation have teamed up to donate 2,323 pairs of Crocs shoes and 2,295 Crocs socks for foster youth in 10 states. “Ticket to Dream is thrilled to be working with Famous Footwear and Crocs to help fulfill the holiday wishes of more than 2300 children in foster care,” said Gina Davis, CEO of Ticket to Dream Foundation. “Crocs are definitely on the top of many holiday gifts lists this year.”

Nov. 11, 2022: JCPenney announced on Thursday that it has made a commitment through its Communities Foundation to donate $500,000 to Feeding America by 2025 to help address food insecurity in communities across the U.S. The retailer’s donation will support child hunger initiatives like the Summer Food Program, School Pantry Program and after-school food programs, JCPenney said in a statement. JCPenney will initiate the partnership with a $50,000 gift to Feeding America, which will be the exclusive nonprofit partner for the JCP Live Holiday Spectacular on Dec. 1, a Facebook Live hosted by the Backstreet Boys. “From the recent hurricanes in Puerto Rico and Florida to the financial strains caused by inflation, this year has reminded us that when times are tough, the power of community can be transformational,” said Marc Rosen, JCPenney CEO said. “Helping our neighbors is core to our founding principle, the Golden Rule, and we are honored to join forces with Feeding America to support millions of families experiencing food insecurity.”