What We Do

Two Ten Footwear Foundation was born in the wake of the Great Depression, when a group of Boston “shoepeople” began to meet every Wednesday in a building at 210 Lincoln Street. They’d share stories and pass the hat, giving what they could to help colleagues in need. That weekly community gathering and those small acts of kindness inspired the founding of Two Ten. We have since grown into a national nonprofit that helps thousands of footwear families every year. We serve footwear employees in every U.S. state and territory.

A lot has changed in our industry since the 1930s but Two Ten’s mission remains the same: bringing hope, opportunity, and community to people who work in U.S. footwear. Two Ten is a vital part of the industry and has brought hope and opportunity to generations of footwear families.

Two Ten is active in three key areas: emergency relief and employee assistance services; education, upskilling and professional development; community building and diversity/belonging initiatives. Our relief programs offer emergency financial assistance to help footwear employees facing disaster, hardship or crisis and our employee assistance program provides access to free and confidential legal, financial or mental health counseling at any time as well as a wide range of tools and resources to enhance employee wellbeing, at home and at work. Our education programs fund employee upskilling and professional development opportunities as well as college scholarships for footwear employees and their dependents. Our affinity groups and community programming deliver meaningful opportunities for those who work in U.S. footwear to connect with colleagues across the industry, build their professional networks, participate in thought leadership events, serve on industry councils and advisory boards, and find purpose through mentoring and volunteering engagements.