Two Ten Newsletter - Winter 2015

Newsletter | Winter, 2015

Contents:

Footwear Cares® | April, 2015: Getting people back on their feet.

Footwear Cares®

Last year, Footwear Cares was supported by 6,500 employees from 100 footwear companies working from coast-to-coast to give back to the communities that support our businesses. Why? Because quite simply, Footwear Cares.

Getting people back on their feet.

Two Ten Annual Gala It’s a shoe thing. Thanks for making it your thing.

NST’s $1M Donation Scholarships for shoe travelers.

Scholarship Applications Deadline extended to March 31.

4-Star Rating Again from Charity Navigator A demonstration of trust.

Real Shoe People.

Real Shoe Stories.

In just four minutes, we lost everything.

Two Ten Tuesday Sharing the love.

Letter from Neal Thanks from all of us!

The highlights from the combined work in 83 charitable nonprofits last year included: • 517,549 meals sorted, packed, prepared or served to feed the food insecure.

• 11,300 pairs of new shoes were distributed to children.

• Over 20 environmental projects were completed to enhance our coastlines, nature trails, community parks, and recreation facilities.

• 1,242 low-income children were provided with clothing.

• 15,000 volunteer hours offset more than $330,000 in operational costs for nonprofits.

Building on the success in 2014, planning for Footwear Cares 2015 is already underway. “Getting People Back on Their Feet” will be the theme for our community service activities this year and we’re excited about working with thousands of footwear employees to make a positive change in the lives of those less fortunate.

Impact: Last 90 Days

HOUSING

187

Evictions Prevented

For the second year in a row, we are thrilled to have the support of Amazon Fashion on a national level. “The generous support of Amazon Fashion, as the title sponsor of Footwear Cares, enables us to involve thousands of employees from footwear companies across the country as volunteers, all working together to change the lives of families in need,” said Neal Newman, president of Two Ten Footwear Foundation.

We hope you’ll join us again this year.

To sign up for Footwear Cares, please email Kaitlyn Butler at kbutler@twoten.org

4-Star Rating Again!

NST’s $1M Donation to Educate Families Life just got a little easier for National Shoe Travelers (NST) members and their families who are trying to navigate the rising costs of a college education.

For the second year in a row, Two Ten has earned the coveted 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s leading independent charity evaluator, for exceeding industry standards and executing its mission in a fiscally responsible way.

“Two Ten’s supporters should feel very confident that their hard-earned dollars are being used efficiently and responsibly,” said Ken Berger, president and CEO, Charity Navigator.

“This exceptional designation differentiates the Foundation from its peers and demonstrates to the public that it is worthy of their trust.”

“This recognition truly differentiates Two Ten as a top-performing charitable nonprofit. Our 4-star rating is a testament to the commitment of the Foundation’s staff and Board to be fully accountable, transparent and focused on effective impacts and stewardship of our donor’s funds,” said Neal Newman, president of Two Ten Footwear Foundation.

NST looks to improve the wellbeing of traveling sales representatives who work within the footwear industry by partnering with Two Ten to offer higher educational scholarships to members and their families.

“With a donation of $1M to Two Ten, NST has ensured that the benefit will be available to its members and their families for generations to come,” said Terry Bastis, President of NST. The scholarship fund will enable a NST member to receive up to $5,000 a year for four years of higher education and will be implemented immediately. Two Ten will administer the fund along with our many other industry-wide scholarship offerings.

Applications are currently being accepted until March 31, 2015.

To apply, please visit www.twoten.org/scholarships.

Now Accepting Scholarship Applications Higher education is more than just a stepping-stone to a career. It’s also an amazing opportunity to enrich yourself and give you much needed perspective to better understand what’s happening in a rapidly changing, increasingly connected global economy.

Since 1969, Two Ten Footwear Foundation has awarded $18 million to 5,735 students. In 2014, Two Ten helped over 320 students nationwide meet the rising cost of a college education by awarding $800,000 in scholarships.

www.charitynavigator.org/

Impact: Last 90 Days

UTILITIES

227

Families Received Emergency Utility Support

Two Ten offers four different scholarships to the community including: • Higher Education (2 or 4 year degree) • Footwear Design (for students studying design) • Footwear Warriors Scholarship (exclusively for U.S. veterans working in the footwear industry) • NST Scholarship (available to NST members, their children or grandchildren) General Application Deadline Extended to March 31, 2015 To learn more please go to www.twoten.org/scholarships or call 855.670.ISTS.

It’s a Shoe Thing. Thanks for Making it Your Thing.

As an industry, we were brought together to celebrate Two Ten’s 75 anniversary and reflect on how special the footwear community is. With the generous support of the footwear industry, Two Ten has been the safety net for shoepeople for 75 years. The gala theme summed it up perfectly: It’s A Shoe Thing.

Highlights of the evening included:

• Attendance by 1,600 members of the

footwear industry who together raised a record-breaking $2.7 million dollars – money that provides the financial backbone for the thousands of shoepeople who look to Two Ten each year for help.

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Presentation of the Bob Campbell Lifetime Achievement Award to Tim O’Donovan, retired Chairman and CEO of Wolverine Worldwide, a true leader within the footwear industry whose philanthropy has left Two Ten stronger and better positioned to deliver on its mission in the years ahead.

Over 48,000 social media impressions were captured using #itsashoething to illustrate what a caring community looks like.

Special thanks to our gala chair, Ken Hicks, along with his team at Foot Locker and our fabulous gala committees; they worked incredibly hard to deliver a spectacular event.

Additional thanks to our sponsors for making all of this possible.

If you couldn’t attend the gala, or simply want to relive this amazing night, all the pictures and video from the evening can be found at www.twoten.org/annual-gala.

Real Shoe People. Real Shoe Stories.

In just 4 minutes, we lost everything.

My husband smelled the smoke first and moved quickly through the house to identify the source.

Moments later, our floors and walls were engulfed in flames in what’s called a flash fire. While we both made it out of the house safely, I realized that our two cats were still inside. Without thinking, I ran back in and found one of our cats but had to leave because the flames were everywhere. Just inside the front door, my handbag along with identification, credit cards and Christmas money sat burning. I didn’t have time to grab it.

The front brick facade is all that remains of our house. But we’re lucky. We got out alive and we are fortunate to have the support of our friends who have opened their homes to us during this transition.

Over the years, my employer has worked hard to make sure that we all know about Two Ten Footwear Foundation and the resources that they provide the footwear community. While I never thought I’d need to call Two Ten, I found myself talking with John, one of the representatives trained to help people through difficult times. Not only did John provide me with external resources to tap into, but on behalf of the Foundation, he stepped right up and sent us a check to help us get back on our feet.

Situations like these test you in every possible way and regardless of how prepared you are, the unexpected can and will happen. Thankfully, our industry, the footwear industry, has Two Ten working for us.

- Kelly, Two Ten Client

Upcoming Events: April, 2015 - Footwear Cares Register at: www.twoten.org/footwearcares

Two Ten Tuesday: Sharing the love.

Two Ten Tuesday was a great success!

Associates from footwear companies across the country celebrated Two Ten’s birthday in fun and engaging ways that helped to broaden awareness of the Foundation’s mission and raised money for footwear families in need.

“It has been so inspiring to see the creative ways each company has embraced the opportunity to bring together their teams in celebration of Two Ten Tuesday,” said Kate Atkinson Kaplan, director of development at Two Ten. “We’re so grateful for all of our partners in the industry, whose continued support will enable us to be successful for another 75 years.”

Participating companies included: Birkenstock, Crocs, Dansko, Deer Stags, Earth, Inc., Foot Locker, Lacoste, RG Barry, Rockport, Reebok, Adidas, Shoebuy.com, Steve Madden and Weyco Group.

Thank you to everyone who participated. It means a great deal, not only to us here at Two Ten, but to the thousands of shoepeople we support every year.

Two Ten Staff

Thanks From All Of Us! You did it! What an exciting year it has been. In 2014, we reached our annual $3.2 million fundraising goal for emergency assistance, college scholarships and community programs. We couldn’t have done it without you.

Take a look at what we achieved during our 75th anniversary year with your generous donations.

• Two Ten changed of 2,180 footwear families following a personal tragedy, health crisis or an unexpected loss of income or job. That means we touched the lives of over 10,000 people last year.

• This past year, Two Ten provided $800,000 in scholarships to 320 hardworking students who otherwise would not have been able to attend college.

• Two Ten’s events and community groups including Footwear Cares®, Women in the Footwear Industry (WIFI), the Young Professionals, the HR Leadership Committee and Annual Conference, our annual gala and three golf tournaments in New York, St. Louis, and Las Vegas, brought together over 10,000 footwear professionals for good.

YOU MADE IT ALL HAPPEN. Whether you gave your valuable time, money, or both in 2014, I thank you.

We all thank you.

Lacoste

Impact: Last 90 Days

CAR ASSISTANCE

115

Awards for Emergency Car Loan Assistance & Repair

You are the lifeblood of our industry. And you are the reason why Two Ten Footwear Foundation is here today; stronger than ever and celebrating our 75th anniversary. Thank you.

Neal Newman President, Two Ten Footwear Foundation

Two Ten Footwear Foundation | Shoepeople Helping Shoepeople ®

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