Charity Works: Oofos’ Donations for Breast Cancer Research Reach $1 Million + More

FN Staff
·4 min read

A monthly roundup of footwear brands and retailers that are participating in charitable causes.

Jan. 27, 2021: Academy Sports + Outdoors has announced the donation of $150,000 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Through a collaboration during the holiday season, the two released T-shirts featuring nine exclusive designs, with 25% of the purchase price benefiting the hospital. “During these challenging times, it’s more important than ever to give back to an impactful organization like St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,” Academy chairman, president and CEO Ken Hicks said in a statement. “We were honored to partner with them on this unique opportunity, and we’re thankful to our customers for helping us support St. Jude’s mission.”

More from Footwear News

Jan. 26, 2021: Footwear brand Oofos has hit a major milestone in its long-standing partnership with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, announcing it has donated a total of $1 million to the center over the course of four years. The Boston-based company created its Project Pink initiative in 2017, after one of its first employees, Duncan Finigan, was diagnosed with breast cancer. (Finigan lost her battle with the disease in 2019.) As part of its initiative, Oofos donates 2% of all sales from its website to cancer research throughout the year, and also organizes other fundraising efforts, including offering the Project Pink OOcloog, which gave 100% of proceeds to Dana-Farber and The Jimmy Fund for Cancer Research last fall. After seeing significant revenue growth in 2020, Oofos has committed to raising another $1 million for Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund — in 2021 alone.

Jan. 21, 2021: Old Navy is donating 1 million face masks to one of its longtime partners, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. In early February, more than 150 stores across the country will deliver the coverings to local chapters of the organization. “At a local level, underprivileged children in low-income communities, which have suffered from higher COVID-19 infection rates, have fewer masks available to them and are often using the same ones over and over,” read a statement from the company. “This donation helps further BGCA’s mission to provide all youth equal access to experience and opportunities.”

Jan. 19, 2021: Kenneth Cole has launched a “S–t Happened” mask at the brand’s website. The reusable mask comes with a $15 price tag with proceeds going to a good cause. Kenneth Cole has pledged to donate funds to The Mental Health Coalition — an organization that works to end the stigma around mental illness.

Jan. 15, 2021: WSS, formerly known as Warehouse Shoe Sale, is joining forces with the International WeLoveU Foundation, LifeStream and LAFC to host a monumental blood drive for the city of Los Angeles. Taking place at the Banc of California Stadium on Sunday, Jan. 17, the event already has over 700 donors committed as the event hopes to receive enough donations to help save 3,000 lives.

Jan. 13, 2021: Post Malone and Crocs have partnered with Musicians on Call — a nonprofit that brings live music to the bedsides of patients in healthcare facilities — to donate 10,000 pairs of sold-out Post Malone x Crocs Duet Max Clog II to frontline caregivers, housekeeping staff and healthcare workers at 70 different facilities that partner with Musicians on Call.

Jan. 7, 2021: The New Balance Foundation revealed it will offer more COVID-19 pandemic relief grants, which will total $375,000 and be awarded to charities in Massachusetts and Maine. The organizations receiving grants include West End House Boys and Girls Club, Lawrence Boys and Girls Club, Merrimack Valley YMCA, Dorchester Boys and Girls Club, SquashBusters, Good Shepherd Food Bank and Maine School District 54. According to New Balance, these grants will be given to these organizations to “address the increasing inequities related to COVID-19 across education, technology access and food security in communities dealing with hybrid or fully remote teaching models.”

Big Initiatives in December 2020

Dec. 21, 2020: Foot wellness company FitMyFoot has partnered with the non-profit One Eighty Foundation, to support essential workers this holiday season with free custom insoles. For every pair of FitMyFoot insoles sold during the month of December, another pair will be gifted by One Eighty Foundation to an essential worker in the U.S. The first recipients will be from UW Medicine, the Anaheim Firefighters Association and the Community Cancer Fund; workers can order and be fitted for their custom pair through any smartphone.

Dec. 2, 2020: Schutz has teamed up with charitable organization Soles4Souls to encourage customers to give back this holiday season. Through the Donate & Get Campaign, the first 500 customers to visit Schutz’s website and register for Donate & Get will be prompted to upload a photo of a pair of shoes — from any label — that they commit to donating, and in return will receive a free pair of new Schutz shoes. The 500 pairs will be donated to Soles4Souls to supply footwear to individuals in need.

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