With 20.5 million jobs lost amid the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, the shoe industry continues to face severe cut backs as a staggering 60% of the industry, more than 100,000 people, have been laid off or furloughed. Our team hears their stories every day. The employees who helped our industry thrive are now … Read More
Originally written by Nikara Johns at Footwear News on May 8, 2020. From bankruptcies to layoffs, it has been a trying few months for the footwear industry. And as April saw the worst monthly unemployment rate on record, with 20.5 million jobs lost amid the coronavirus crisis in the United States, the shoe business continues to face … Read More
The COVID-19 pandemic presents unique challenges for all of us who are home bound and socially-distancing. However, this time also creates an opportunity to learn new skills for career development, personal satisfaction, and general well-being. Major universities such as Harvard and Brown, in addition to online platforms like Coursera, are offering free courses in subject matters ranging from computer programming … Read More
We are not just an industry, we are a community. Our 80-year legacy is to take care of each other, especially in hard times. Now, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Two Ten is experiencing 10X the number of emergency financial assistance applications since the beginning of March and doesn’t show any signs of slowing. This dramatic … Read More
The industry’s foundation teams up with Wolverine Worldwide, Inc. to kick off critical, national fundraising effort WALTHAM, MA March 23, 2020 — In response to rapidly increasing industry need for emergency financial aid, and the necessity to raise enough funds to meet the demand for thousands of footwear families affected by the pandemic, Two Ten … Read More
Two Ten Footwear Foundation partnered with Footwear News and their FN Labs to celebrate our 80th anniversary with a series of opinion pieces written by footwear people from across the industry. Why We Should Care. For nearly 15 years, I have been working in social services. Eldercare, inpatient and outpatient facilities and, most recently, the … Read More
Two Ten Footwear Foundation partnered with Footwear News and their FN Labs to celebrate our 80th anniversary with a series of opinion pieces written by footwear people from across the industry. The Power of a Hand Up. Life is a journey. It’s filled with stumbling blocks and sharp turns, bridges, and paths of uncertainty. But … Read More
Two Ten Footwear Foundation partnered with Footwear News and their FN Labs to celebrate our 80th anniversary with a series of opinion pieces written by footwear people from across the industry. The Power of Education. If anyone doesn’t understand that education can break the cycle of poverty, they haven’t met me. I grew up … Read More
On August 13th, more than one hundred footwear industry women and men gathered in the beautiful FNPlatform Women’s Footwear Lounge space on the floor of the Las Vegas Convention Center, to honor and celebrate three industry leaders for their contributions towards female leadership with the Third Annual Two Ten WIFI Impact Awards. Presenting Sponsor for … Read More
New Balance Athletics and the New Balance Foundation have been long-time partners of the Two Ten Footwear Foundation. Collectively, their mission is to improve the health and well-being of children and families through their support of a multitude of different initiatives worldwide. With more than 30 years of support and dedication to Two Ten, New … Read More
For the second year in a row, Two Ten WIFI and Footwear News joined forces to present an evening of celebration at the Women Who Rock event in New York City. The event, which took place at the gorgeous NeueHouse penthouse on 25th Street, featured two powerful speaking programs and entertained a sold-out audience of … Read More
1999. Cher, Britney Spears, and TLC all had #1 songs. The Matrix, The Sixth Sense, and Fight Club all premiered. That’s also the same year that Timberland began its work with the town of Salisbury, Massachusetts. Fast forward 20 years and they are still helping around their local towns and communities. Last week, Timberland was … Read More
Our Two Ten team joined thousands of people bundled up to walk through the streets of Boston Sunday morning with a mission to help end homelessness during the third annual Winter Walk. The walk takes place in February to demonstrate the hardships that homeless individuals face during the winter. The event organizers wanted to raise … Read More
When Hurricane Irma hit, Regina’s family moved in and she couldn’t pay for the roof over their heads. Reaching out to Two Ten for help was the best decision she could have made. Apply for Assistance
A breakdown by Two Ten President Neal Newman reveals the great volunteering work being done industry wide. It all adds up! Originally posted by Footwear Plus Magazine, January, 2019 In 2018: We held group events in eight cities during April 2018, our focus-launch month. We held nine Boston-area events with (Footwear Cares national sponsor) Shoes.com We … Read More
It was a busy couple of days for our Portland, OR friends! On Wednesday, January 16th, the women of Portland came out to support a regional WIFI event at KEEN’s downtown headquarters space. Then, on Thursday, January 17th, both male and female Two Ten supporters joined us and the Forest Park Conservancy at Pittock Mansion … Read More
On Halloween Eve, The Salvation Army in West Harlem, NY was filled with lots of happy, yelling kids, running around, eating candy, painting pumpkins and posing as their favorite Super Heroes. Not to be outdone, we brought our own team of Footwear Cares “Super Heroes” who helped set up the gym, decorate tables, pass out … Read More
The following is a letter from James, a Two Ten client who was helped in 2018. In September, my wife was hospitalized with internal bleeding and was given a small chance to survive. She lost over half of her blood, her body could not carry oxygen due to lack of blood cells, and the hospital did … Read More
The following is a letter from Brook, a Two Ten client who was helped in 2018. In the last year, I’ve become a single mom and was left with all of the financial burdens from my previous relationship. It has been a struggle trying to figure out if I can pay my mortgage and other … Read More
The jack-o-lanterns are out, the cobwebs are up, trick-or-treating is almost here. Before the celebrations can start, the scariest nights of the year must first come to pass, Mid-Terms! Don’t worry, we’ve created a small list of ways for you to survive this year. Tips for Surviving Mid-Terms: Take a quick break. Staring at your … Read More
Empowerment and work/life balance were the themes of the evening as the WIFI Charlotte chapter came together on Wednesday, October 17th for a panel discussion entitled “Women Navigating Career & Life”. The event, which was sponsored by Margaritaville Shoes, took place at the beautiful Carmel Country Club just outside of downtown Charlotte. Panel participants included … Read More
The following is a letter from Tracey, a Two Ten client who was helped in 2018. I have been working in the footwear industry for 7 years. I found out about Two Ten because of a poster in my store. I also had a district manager who had been in the footwear industry for over … Read More
A corporate leader and generous supporter of Two Ten, Cliff Sifford has been leading his employees at Shoe Carnival on a philanthropic path to help support local communities surrounding their Evansville, Indiana headquarters. By exemplifying values of compassion and caring, this “model citizen CEO” has not only set an example for his employees – he … Read More
Volunteers gathered outside of Gossler Elementary School in Manchester, NH last week on a misty Thursday morning. This was one of six different sites around Manchester that Timberland chose as part of their Serv-a-Palooza event. As the students walked onto the school grounds, their excitement was palpable with one student skipping past the volunteers saying, … Read More
Sara Irvani, CEO of footwear brands Okabashi, Oka-B, and Third Oak, recently hosted a WIFI Lunch & Learn Webinar focused on the importance of sustainability and ethical footwear manufacturing. In this informative discussion, Sara discussed her company’s focus on sustainably-sourced, American made materials, the concept of closed-loop manufacturing, and the importance of sustainability to today’s … Read More
Attending FN Platform next week? Come by and visit Two Ten! Our booth, #80775, is located on the main floor of the FN show space near the “Play” area. Here, you can reconnect with Two Ten, recharge your electronics, and find some respite during the show. We will have chair massages, water and snacks for … Read More
On July 31st, 160 golfers came together in support of the 64th Annual Two Ten Foundation / Caleres Golf Tournament at Norwood Hills Country Club in St. Louis, MO. With the support of outgoing event chair Rick Ausick, who will be retiring from Famous Footwear this year, over $75,000 was raised to support footwear families in need. We … Read More
The second #21DaysofDesign Challenge is underway, inviting designers to submit their “design of the day” for a chance to win a life-changing opportunity. To encourage inspiring designers to push their skills to design for a purpose, Pensole has decided to take this challenge to the next level! Each week they will announce one new design category … Read More
Wolverine Worldwide employees are continuing to grow their support of the Two Ten Footwear Foundation and strengthen their impact on their industry colleagues in need. After kicking off its annual campaign to support Two Ten, Wolverine Worldwide held exciting “Fun Friday” activities at its Rockford, MI office throughout May and June. Included in those events, … Read More
Originally posted by Footwear Plus Magazine, July 2018 WHAT’S BETTER THAN one Two Ten Foundation group event? Combining it with a second. That’s exactly what members of Two Ten’s new Women in the Footwear Industry (WIFI) chapter in Charlotte, NC, decided to do when it organized a Footwear Cares volunteering outing at the Second … Read More
Susan Hudson-O’Neil, former longtime Kenneth Cole exec and Two Ten chair, on a career guided by gut instincts, good intentions, and great rewards. Originally posted by Footwear Plus Magazine, July 2018 •• DEAR SUSAN, As you finish college, I’m happy to share some peeks into what’s to come and insights on what I’ve learned that … Read More
This Habitat Humanity of Warrick County build is Shoe Carnival‘s 30th house as a company. On each project, they partner with shoe companies to strengthen relationships and give back to their community. 20 volunteers from Dockers (2/3 of their team) traveled from Nashville to help install windows, doors, a roof base and more on a home in Boonville, … Read More
“Suicide is not chosen; it happens when pain exceeds resources for coping with the pain.” Suicide is a major public health concern. Over 40,000 people die by suicide each year in the United States; it is the 10th leading cause of death overall. Suicide is complicated and tragic but it is often preventable. Knowing the … Read More
A Celebration of Entrepreneurs, Friendship, and Losing the Guilt This past week, a group of over 200 men and women came together at the Redbury Hotel in New York City to engage with a panel of five incredible women who truly rock. The event, which marked a first-time collaboration between Two Ten WIFI and Footwear … Read More
Each April, Two Ten Footwear Foundation launches its national Footwear Cares community volunteer campaign, inspiring footwear employees from across the country to come together to support disadvantaged children and their families in their surrounding communities. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, Footwear Cares 2018 is off to a fantastic start with employees volunteering their … Read More
There are 688 confirmed cases of child abuse or neglect in Massachusetts each week. This is a staggering and sobering number in its own right. But to see this visualized is even more impactful and it creates a lasting impression that is hard to shake. The Children’s Trust of Massachusetts does just that at their … Read More
Delivering shoes to kids, and crucial funding to footwear families when crisis strikes. Shoes to the World partnered with Two Ten’s Share Your Shoes program to help provide 1,000 pairs of new shoes to children at Laurel and Mission Hill elementary schools in Oceanside, CA. “Thank you so much for your generosity. These shoes are … Read More
Partnering to help discover future elite footwear designers. The three weeks leading up to this year’s FN PLATFORM were a blur of color and creativity. Each day, hundreds of aspiring footwear designers from all over the world posted their best design sketches to Instagram in hope of winning the #21daysofdesign challenge, and an opportunity to … Read More
Footwear Industry rallies to raise $3.6 Million for Two Ten When it comes to raising money for people in need, the footwear industry really knows how to rally. Two Ten raised $3.6 million at its annual gala on November 29, thanks to the leadership of father-son duo Bobby and Seth Campbell, of BBCi — along … Read More
The industry’s next generation of leaders comes together to support their foundation. After many months of planning, the very first Two Ten Associate Board was formed and launched last Fall. This group of 19 young women and men from across the industry and the country will actively support building awareness of Two Ten and … Read More
After six months without electricity, Two Ten is helping to turn the lights back on. Hurricane Maria was the most serious and damaging hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in history. “We thought we were going to die,” one footwear employee told Two Ten. “My house was shaking. You could hear the firecracker sound of electrical … Read More
On February 13th, showcased in the pink-and-black-and-chandeliered Cosmo Lounge in the middle of the FN Platform show floor, more than 200 footwear colleagues came together to honor and celebrate six incredible women in the industry at the Second Annual WIFI Impact Awards. WIFI co-founders Carol Baiocchi and Diane Sullivan shared hosting responsibilities, with Carol’s opening … Read More
For the last 21 days, the Pensole Instagram account has been flooded with over 5,000 submissions from talented, aspiring footwear designers, all working hard to break into the footwear industry. D’Wayne Edwards and his team at Pensole, have narrowed the field down to 20 finalists whose designs will be voted on today at www.pensole.com/fnpc/. … Read More
Bruce Fendell, leading industry executive, passed away on December 5th after a courageous battle with lung cancer. At heart, Bruce was a “shoe dog”, devoting 30 years to the footwear industry, sharing his extraordinary talents with WSS, Fila, Adidas, and many other firms. Most recently Bruce worked as SVP Strategic Planning at WSS, formerly Warehouse … Read More
February 10th isn’t an ordinary birthday, it’s a birthday celebration for Two Ten Footwear Foundation! During the entire month of February, we invite organizations to share in the fun and rally with your teams to host a Two Ten Celebration. This event will help to raise awareness for the Two Ten Footwear Foundation and invite … Read More
Originally Posted In Footwear News, 11/30/17 When it comes to raising money for people in need, the footwear industry really knows how to rally. Two Ten raised $3.6 million at its annual gala Wednesday night, thanks to the leadership of father-son duo Bobby and Seth Campbell — and several huge donations. Steve Madden generously gave … Read More
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On October 19th, over 50 Women from all departments of Nike got together at the Oregon Food Bank in Beaverton for a “Women of Nike” Footwear Cares Volunteer event. These women put on their hair nets, rolled up their sleeves and got to work lifting, labeling, sorting, weighing and bagging over 9,000 pounds of raw … Read More
Online Footwear Retailer Takes A Lead Role in Supporting The Foundation’s Industry-Wide Community Service Initiative Two Ten Footwear Foundation, the national charitable foundation of the U.S. footwear industry, announced today that shoes.com will be a title sponsor of its Footwear Cares campaign over the next three years. Footwear Cares is the Foundation’s year-round community service … Read More
Two Ten Footwear Foundation is ready to assist members of the shoe industry who have been affected by Hurricane Harvey. The devastating storm made landfall in Texas Friday night and continues to dramatically impact the state, which faces historic flooding. President Neal Newman talked to FN about how the industry’s biggest charity organization plans to help in … Read More
The ALDO Racing team officially crossed the finish line at the Race Around Ireland (RAI) at 3 a.m. on Friday, September 1. (Fun fact: They finished RAAM about the same time last year!) RAI brought its own set of challenges: a complicated road book, a smaller support crew and only two full stops to catch some collective shut-eye. … Read More
“My wife was diagnosed with cancer. She had been working at her company for 17 years and didn’t want to stop; in fact, she never took a sick day until then,” says Tom, a shoe store Manager. When the bills started rolling in, Tom had to take a second job to keep up, but it … Read More
Thursday, April 15th Last Thursday night, over 500 women and men from across the globe logged in to their computers to participate in Two Ten WIFI’s event – Staying Connected, a virtual conversation with industry leaders. More than a year after putting the program on hold due to the pandemic, WIFI’s relaunch was truly one … Read More
Last week, Footwear News hosted Virtual Summit: The Way Ahead. This exciting 2-day event featured exclusive access to showroom previews, executive smart talks, thought-provoking panels and digital bootcamps led by the leaders of the footwear industry. Attendees included top executives from brands, retailers and companies in the footwear industry. Highlights from the first day included, … Read More
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted so many lives in our footwear community. Two Ten has been receiving applications for financial assistance at an unprecedented rate that is 10X greater than at any other point in our history. Thousands of footwear families are in difficult positions they never thought possible – and turning to the industry’s foundation for … Read More
For eight decades, Two Ten Footwear Foundation has been providing emergency financial assistance to US footwear employees and their families who are in crisis, ensuring a healthy future for the next generation of the footwear community and upholding our industry’s long-standing commitment to take care of each other. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected so many … Read More
In response to the growing Covid-19 crisis, Sperry will support the footwear industry’s charitable foundation WALTHAM MA, March 25: Sperry, the heritage footwear brand, will donate over 3000 pairs of shoes to Two Ten Footwear Foundation in response to the Covid 19 crisis. Two Ten provides emergency financial assistance, and access to counseling services and … Read More
Tom Vernarsky and his team at Shoe Carnival in Evansville, IN, started with one house. Over nine years later, he’s built entire neighborhoods. Tom, recently retired from Shoe Carnival, has been involved with Habitat for Humanity for nearly a decade and over that time he and his crew have helped build 53 houses. For 2020, … Read More
In 2019, Payless Shoes closed all of its 2,000 stores and cut 16,000 jobs. The fallout was difficult for their employees, as the benefits and pay they depended on literally disappeared. Since Payless’ closure in June 2019, hundreds of former Payless employees have reached out to Two Ten for assistance – with more continuing to … Read More
Preparing for the new year was the theme at the Portland WIFI Chapter gathering on Thursday night, January 16th, in the lobby lounge of the Woodlark Hotel downtown Portland. Women from KEEN, Columbia, SOREL, Nike, PENSOLE, and others came out to support Two Ten WIFI and gain insight from two engaging guest speakers. Tracy Siegel, Certified Functional … Read More
Happy 2020! We hope you had a wonderful holiday season, spent with your loved-ones and perhaps lending a helping hand in your community to spread the holiday cheer. We sure did! As part of our Footwear Cares commitment to service and helping local communities, the Two Ten Footwear Foundation team participated in The Salvation Army’s annual Christmas Castle … Read More
Two Ten Footwear Foundation partnered with Footwear News and their FN Labs to celebrate our 80th anniversary with a series of opinion pieces written by footwear people from across the industry. Some Things Never Change. At The NPD Group, we are known for equipping the market with tangible information and insights to help businesses grow. … Read More
Convert your unwanted inventory into emergency financial funds to help footwear families who are in crisis right now.
Your participation in Two Ten COVID-19 Share Your Shoes product donation Campaign will help us respond to rapidly increasing industry need for emergency financial aid, and the critical need to raise upwards of $3 million to support thousands of footwear families affected by the pandemic.
Two Ten offers emergency financial assistance to footwear employees and their families that have been affected by the COVID-19 global health pandemic. If you are experiencing a financial emergency due to challenges associated with COVID-19 and have been working in the footwear industry part-time, full-time or as a temp for at least one year, we are here to help.
We provide crisis relief including financial assistance, counseling, and information and referral services for eligible footwear industry employees.
