National Footwear Community Service Week

Footwear companies across the country unite during Footwear Cares, National Footwear Community Service Week, April 21-27, 2013. Imagine 3,000 shoepeople coming together to make an impact in their own communities. Partnering with high profile national organizations like Feeding America, the Lions Club, Habitat for Humanity, and Ronald MacDonald House or local organizations like Chippawa Falls Main Street Association, Occupy Sandy Recovery, or Nelsonville City Pool Beautification, volunteering makes a difference.

When we come together in our local communities across the country, that difference can multiply and the impact is stunning. There is still time to join, either individually or by encouraging your company to participate. Visit our website at www.twoten.org to learn more. Join the footwear community in the first ever national effort, Footwear Cares.

“When the original founders would gather to meet, they would pass a hat at the end of the meeting and leave it in the lap of the person who needed the hand up. We still carry on that tradition, though on a bigger scale with greater impact. But with the same humility and genuine sense of caring. I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating.  If you described what we do to someone, it wouldn’t sound like an industry. It sounds more like a family.”

Jim Salzano
President, Clarks Americas
Board Chair, Two Ten Footwear Foundation

Feeding America

In April, shoepeople will have an impact on the fight against hunger. As of March 29, over 1100 shoepeople committed to work at food banks across the country. There is a reason for that.

Two Ten is based in Massachusetts where 806,480 people are food insecure — in other words, hungry. Fly across the country and you’ll find 2,757,270 in California struggling to provide food for their families and in the tiniest of tiny states, — Rhode Island –, there are 161,360 people who don’t have enough food to eat.
This is happening in your community too but you can help. For Footwear Cares, Two Ten connected with Feeding America to help shoepeople volunteer in their local community to help feed hungry families. Get involved. Contact Jeanne Connolly-Horrigan at jconnolly@twoten.org and we’ll get you started.

And, by the way, those 1100 shoepeople will provide 123,000 meals to help people in their own community. Together, we can do more. Participate in Footwear Cares.

Find out how many people are hungry where you live by going to http://solvehunger.feedingamerica.org/

Photo and Vine Contest

We want to see your team in action! All you have to do is take a picture or record a quick Vine video of you and your friends giving back to your community.  Then simply tag and upload to your favorite social media channel and you’ll be entered into our #footwearcares contest.   Entries will be judged by icons of the industry and winners will receive a $100 American Express gift card; their efforts soon to grace the pages of footwear and fashion.

Show off the great work you and your team are doing during National Community Service Week and help us document this on a national level!  We could not be more excited that so many volunteers are onboard for this inaugural event and we want everyone to share in the experience.
We wanted to make this as simple as possible and not limit participants to one social network so feel free to take advantage of the many options available.

Here is a quick rundown of the entry process:
1. Take a picture or video (Vine)
2. Post through favorite social channel.
a. Twitter
b. Instagram
c. Facebook
d. Pinterest
e. Foursquare
f. Etc.
3. @two_ten in your post
4. #footwearcares in your post
5. Add the category for your entry
a. #teamwork – Show your team in action
b. #together – Group / Team Pictures
c. #impact – Shoe the results of your hard work
d. #twoten – Incorporate the twoten logo.

All entries should be submitted by April 30, 2013.
We will scour the web, find your picture/video and make sure it is added to the list of entries in each category.   Entries cannot be tagged with more than one category but feel free to enter as many times as you like.
Help us in showing a united footwear industry during this special week!  We can’t wait to see the results.